Additional Information
This article is based on the Architecture Master Thesis “The urban phenomenon of Inquilinatos. Collective, informal, temporary housing for a socioeconomically disadvantaged population in Bogotá” 1 produced by Miriam Külher at the Technical University of Vienna in 2019 and the Architecture Bachelor degree Thesis “Micro Temporal Habitat” 2 produced by Valeria Abello Aldana directed by Gloria Serna at Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá in 2020.
Context
The global coronavirus pandemic has opened up an architectural debate about the kind of house that responds to the current health crisis and how to rethink housing in the future. It has also brought to light complex housing issues that had never before been the subject of public discussion. Particularly the current living situation in Bogotá´s tenements – inquilinatos – has attracted media attention. One of the most significant problems of this type of dwelling is that it does not let inhabitants take physical isolation measures due to overcrowded conditions. Tenants are not able to take adequate sanitary measures. Additionally, they are informal workers who cant work virtually. People´s economic conditions limit their ability to pay rent, which has led to massive evictions.
Despite the media resonance of the evictions, tenements continue to be a socio-spatial problem rarely discussed. Although in cities such as Medellín noteworthy decisions have been taken in recent years, such as Agreement N 19 of 2016 and Decree 0145 of 2019. In Bogotá, the measures taken in this regard are limited. Even though, it is worth mentioning that there was a project of Renovation in 1992 by the Candelaria Foundation (Marta Lucía Gallo, phone conversation, April 7, 2020) and a Pilot Plan for the Improvement of Inquilinatos. “La Milagrosa” and “Betania” were two projects realized in “Egipto” neighbourhood in 1994 (Clemencia Escallón de Acevedo, email, March 25, 2020; “Plan piloto para mejorar los inquilinatos” 1994). However, in recent administrations, the issue has been debated as an aspect of the revitalization of the city center, but no specific project has been carried out (Alejandro Florián Borbón, email, August 16, 2021). Moreover, academic studies on the subject are scarce.
Methodology
For this reason, the present research is developed under a qualitative approach, using theoretical, but especially empirical instruments. The theoretical research includes literature review, journalistic sources, statistical studies, population reports and photographic evidence, limited by difficulties in accessing information due to the lack of official data and the scarcity of academic work on the subject, especially in Bogotá. The empirical research instruments include fieldwork, such as site visits, interviews with inhabitants and administrators of the tenements, as well, limited by difficulties such as the refusal to provide information and work field difficulties due to security issues. On the other hand, there were data recollection at public entities, interviews with professors and professionals linked to the subject. Additionally, Micro Temporal Habitat Thesis uses a project methodology to generate a reflection based on the current social reality, proposing an architectural design.
Socio-spatial issues
Inquilinatos are a traditional and historical form of living in Bogotá. They are collective, temporary and informal (Ocampo Ríos 2013, 36). Different individuals live under the same roof. Their bedroom is the only private room, as they share the bathroom and kitchen between approximately ten people. The payment is daily and the duration of the occupation varies. It can be temporary but often becomes permanent. Inquilinatos are informal businesses (89) managed by a person who charges for the sublet room (Coupé 2018). The tenants, often entire families, acquire the right to use the property but without tenure security (Ocampo Ríos 2013, 70 y 149).
Inquilinatos as a dwelling and business typology exist throughout Latin America, but are known under different names: Vecindades, Conventillos (Coupé 2018), Callejones, Ciudadelas, Cortiços (Harms, Pfeiffer y Ludeña 1996). In Colombia, they are also called Pagadiarios, however, it must be clarified that they are not the same as inquilinatos (fig. 1). The Pagadiarios have even worst conditions and also lower prices (“La resistencia de los emberá” 2018). People pay for a bed or mattress, and the overcrowding is extreme. Lacking the minimum conditions for living, rather than a shelter, they are businesses of exploitation.
Traditionally, inquilinatos were located in the city centre, at colonial and republican houses, in neighbourhoods such as La Candelaria, Santa Fe and Los Mártires. Nowadays, they have spread to different parts of Bogotá, such as Tunjuelito and Barrios Unidos neighbourhoods (Secretaría Distrital de Planeación 2017). Currently, they can be found in multi-family dwellings, offices, workshops and warehouses, emerging informally in properties that are adapted and transformed in an improvised manner, as shown in figure 2. The administrators of Inquiliantos seek to obtain the highest profit per property by subdividing the rooms (Álvarez 2003, 21). So even though the price per room per night is approximately 4 USD, these become 120 USD per month. This amount is more than half of the income this population may have.
That its why when the buildings are adapted, the living conditions are not important. Problems of habitability and sanitation occur but, most of all, inhabitants face overcrowding. What used to be home for six people becomes the shelter of thirty. Any space can be converted into a room, regardless of whether it has natural lighting or ventilation, and the rooms, despite their small size, become micro universes and the family life stage (Cuervo-Calle 2009, 54).
Complementary spaces such as bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms and patios are shared by all tenants (fig. 3) and often become scarce (fig. 4). The number of users per unit exceeds the minimum acceptable level causing critical situations (CEHAP 2006). Difficult physical conditions overlap with complex social situations, leading to conflict, violence and abuse, where girls, adolescents and women become the most vulnerable population (Olga Lucía Ceballos Ramos, interview with Miriam Kuehler, May 30, 2018).
These precarious conditions have increased because of the current health crisis. The lack of adequate living and sanitary conditions increases the risk of infection. In addition, overcrowding and the obligation to use shared spaces enables isolation. Quarantine becomes almost impossible considering, in addition, the increase of domestic violence (Cepal 2020, 6). This is the current reality of the inhabitants of Inquiliantos.
Social Dynamics
Inquilinatos population is very varied: women, men, children, adolescents and seniors. Although they differ in family structure, origin and occupation, they share some characteristics. They are a socio-economically disadvantaged population, live in poverty or extreme poverty, and work in the informal sector. The inquilinatos are the only form of accessible housing that responds to their socio-economic logics.
Three main factors promote the production of inquilinatos. The most important factor is internal and external migration (Coupé 2018), because of the idea of better opportunities, but also the displacement caused by violence. Currently, a large portion of tenants come from Venezuela escaping the complex situation in their home country. A historic and unprecedented migration where Colombia is the first destination and Bogotá is the city with the largest migrant population (World Bank 2018). People who arrive, in general, possess few financial resources and the inquilinato is the first step in their insertion into the city (Fernando Cortés, Interview with Miriam Kuehler, July 8, 2018).
Informality and the socio-economic conditions of the inhabitants are factors that generate both supply and demand. The demand for rooms paid by the day will exist as long as informal jobs paid by the day exist. Also considering that their incomes are low and irregular. On the supply side, some administrators have difficult socio-economic characteristics as the tenants, therefore, this business represents an essential part of the family income (Gilbert 2005, 194). But there are also administrators exploiting this population by extracting as much rent as possible (190).
These dynamics of Colombian society not only have an impact on the production of inquilinatos, also, they have an impact on the production of informal settlements. But while these neighbourhoods are visible to city eyes, the inquilinatos remain hidden behind the facades (Hernández 2015, 92). Nowadays, Informal neighbourhoods, many in consolidation process, are part of political discourses and academic exercises. While inquilinatos are understudied and are not considered into public politics, they are systematically invisible in statistics (Ocampo Ríos 2013, 110).
There is no determined number of people living in inquilinatos or the buildings that operate under this modality. For this reason and this specific case, an estimate is made based on the data obtained in the 2017 SISBÉN III survey. The results evidence that 25.1% of the households surveyed live in single rooms and 7.2% live in overcrowded homes (Secretaría Distrital de Planeación 2017, 11). Taking the second aspect as an approximate figure and the fact that these households are made up of 3 people according to this same survey, it could be concluded that around 250,000 people live in inquilinatos.
However, several factors indicate that the number may be higher or increasing. First of all, it is necessary to recognize that official data underestimate the reality (Ocampo Ríos 2013, 111). Certainly, migration by the Venezuelan population will not stop as long as the crisis in the neighbouring country continues (World Bank 2018). Additionally, a significant increase in poverty and inequality is predicted due to the economic crisis consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic (Cepal 2020, 2). For many people, inquilinatos will be the only housing option.
Evaluating inquilinatos from another perspective
Despite their difficult and complex socio-spatial situations, inquilinatos are an alternative that contributes to the decrease of housing deficit for the vulnerable population (Cuervo-Calle 2009, 19). As a housing model, it responds to a real socio-economic context, a condition that the formal housing model in Colombia does not meet. It is worth noting that a tenant is a person with little or no purchasing power, who in most cases not only has to look after himself but also his entire family, which leaves him outside the formal private market. Accessing social housing requires certain financing requirements that cannot be satisfied by this population (Gilbert 2005, 166). Not to mention that their location on the periphery of the city makes it difficult to access informal work opportunities usually located in the city centre, which means additional costs of time and transport. This also happens at informal settlements which, in addition to being located on the outskirts, would require savings to build a house or a regular salary to rent a room in a multi-family dwelling.
The inquilinato instead operates according to the socio-economic logics of the population. The central location allows the inhabitants to be close to job opportunities and public services. The low threshold access allows immediate access without the need for guarantees and sureties. And finally, the payment per day is coherent to their daily income.
Thus, the investigation of housing in inquilinatos and its architectural and urban expression takes an interesting turn by recognising that there are multiple positive aspects and potentials. Cohousing offers socio-economic advantages such as the collective use of space and resources. In addition, social value in terms of solidarity and mutual support can be obtained when adequate cohousing conditions are provided (Coupé 2018). In conclusion, inquilinatos are an efficient housing option with a positive ecological and urban impact. Such as the reduction of the quantitative housing deficit and densification of the city, taking advantage of the use of neglected properties or reusing abandoned heritage buildings (Álvarez 2003, 30).
Transforming the inquilinato into an adequate housing option is an opportunity to generate a new supply of collective and social housing in the market. Therefore, it contributes to a more equitable and inclusive city. Inquilinatos guarantees housing options at the city centre, reduces gentrification and contributes to the creation of a mixed-use city. The development of inquilinatos as urban acupuncture interventions can turn into small-scale projects, incorporated into the urban fabric. This could promote the social integration of its inhabitants and prevent social conflicts (María Eugenia Martínez Delgado, interview with Miriam Kuehler, June 12, 2018).
However, to explore these potentials, it is key to start a multidisciplinary debate about inquilinatos, which takes into account social, economic and legal aspects, such as cohabitation, legal regulation and personal development programmes. But decisively, this debate should include architectural and urban aspects, such as the improvement and rehabilitation of existing inquilinatos and the construction of new inquilinatos as social housing in rent. The abovementioned is vital to respond to the increasing demand with certain social dynamics.
Architectural proposal for housing
In order to demonstrate the potentials of housing in inquilinatos and the hypothesis that: Inquilinatos embody a problem that results from economic and social factors and reflects in the spatial dimension. Thus, if we approached them through the discipline of architecture, they may have the potential to become an adequate housing alternative. An architectural design is proposed.
The project Micro Temporal Habitat proposes a model of collective living that prioritises the integrity of the individual. It is located in the Siete de Agosto neighbourhood and it is based on an in-depth analysis of the site. Through social cartographies (fig. 5) new inquilinatos were found, related to the fact that this is a highly commercial sector. The street becomes the place of informal work attracting a large proportion of the migrant population and the appearance of inquilinatos with it (Abello Aldana 2020).
The design proposal is based on the comprehension of the current social dynamics, proposing a system of micro-living made up of flexible units, that respond to the basic needs and also can be temporarily grouped and ungrouped in response to the different types of families. The units contain the necessary elements to guarantee adequate living conditions, enabling the collective areas to function as potential spaces rather than indispensable spaces. The way of living in a community is reinvented, which is essential in a pandemic situation.
Micro Temporal Habitat
The architectural proposal is a building that setbacks from the existing context, generating a green and permeable space, as shown in figure 6. This approach blurs the limit between public and private space, intending to integrate the project into the urban fabric. Moreover, considering that this housing typology is emerging in different parts of the city, the project proposes an adaptable and replicable system.
After analyzing the urban morphology and the typology of plots, three modules of five-meter wide were designed to work even in the narrowest of lots. These modules are translated into blocks of seven, nine and eleven people, aiming to minimize the number of people living together to establish circles of trust, reduce insecurity and create community.
These blocks can be adapted depending on the length of the lot, generating multiple possibilities (fig. 7). This way, the number of people per plot can be increased, maintaining the number of people under the same roof.
Three types of building placement adapt to the width of the lot, as shown in figure 8. The modules alternate, generating a dynamic space, as can be seen in figure 9, where multiple relationships of human interactions can occur.
On a large scale, the urban proposal is to break the block progressively to generate a green corridor (fig. 10). Additionally, if there are available more land lots, the green corridor transforms into a hybrid axis of green space, housing and commerce, as can be seen in figure 11. Through productive zones in the first level, this housing model becomes part of the socio-economic dynamic of the neighborhood, one more street of the city and an element that generates urban life.
The project is composed of optimal and common units. The individual units are complemented by collective spaces but do not depend on them, which is essential in a pandemic situation. The optimal units are based on a key question: What are the minimum elements necessary to guarantee adequate living conditions?
Firstly, lighting and ventilation. A perimetral circulation ensures that there always be at least some air and light available (fig. 12). Secondly, a private bathroom. In inquilinatos, spaces like this become unsafe places, mainly for women and children. For this reason, the building has a central nucleus that optimizes the spatial distribution. Two bathrooms are formed in the space of one (fig. 13). The three blocks of the system are made of the same spatial distribution, this central nucleus, as shown in figure 14. Finally, to guarantee the minimum necessary elements, all the units have a private kitchen. This is because of the difficulty of designing a collective kitchen due to health and coexistence problems.
Now more than the minimum elements for living, we are talking about a home. The circulation becomes an extension of the closed units, which people can appropriate and make their own. Each unit has open and green space. The perimetral circulation, rather than being a circulation space is a meeting one. Green niches, terraces and raised orchards serve sustenance for people, as can be seen in figure 15.
Considering the area limitations, the different levels allows diverse spatial relationships, multiple configurations and diverse uses such as study and workspaces. In the same way, the furniture becomes a fundamental element that responds to the lack of storage space without representing an additional one. The different levels and the furniture make the units flexible spaces, responding to the fact that as the population varies, so do its needs. And thus, simple pieces of furniture are designed. Due to their dimensions, the furniture responds to the relationship it acquires with the body.
The design counts with ten different types of units, as shown in figure 16. The units are approximately fifteen square metres and can be grouped and ungrouped temporarily. Because it’s not always a single person, many times there are entire families where the number of people per family changes. Responding also to one of the main logics of migration, where the head of the family is the one who comes first and later brings his family with them (World Bank 2018). This is achieved through a flexible limit that converts the space and is an extension of the space itself. This boundary is based on the analysis of body measurements (fig. 17).
Collective units are not something people depend on, are elements that enhance human development (fig. 18). The aim is to rethink space, generate social articulation and redefine what the inquilinatos are today, to make this way of living an opportunity for the most vulnerable population. Micro Temporal Habitat bases on the understanding of the individual of a specific population, but without forgetting that he or she is part of a family and also a community. This is just one of the many ways in which inquilinatos and social housing can be replanted. It is about reinventing its bases, taking into account the real needs, to reinvent the way of living (fig. 19).
Conclusions
This article addresses the issue of inquilinatos in Bogotá as a form of dwelling; housing solution and opportunity for urban development. It analyses their social logics, spatial characteristics and underlies urban dynamics, taking into consideration the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights their potential as an adequate housing solution for vulnerable communities based on theoretical reflections and an architectural proposal. The architectural design does not pretend to be a solution to the complex problem, but rather a spatial exploration that serves as a starting point for future approaches.
Although inquilinatos represent a socio-spatial problem, they have various potentials for human and urban development. Moreover, they are one of the most suitable housing solutions in terms of socio-economic dynamics. In Bogotá more than 250,000 people in conditions of poverty and vulnerability live in inquilinatos. For this reason, it is assumed that the solution does not consist in their disappearance, but rather in their improvement and an adequate future development based on their potentials.
Finally, it is found that temporality, cohousing and micro-housing are strategies resulting from social and economic conditions, which must be understood as design guidelines rather than limitations. Through different strategies concerning the conception of space inquilinatos can become an adequate and affordable housing solution. Thus, architecture plays a decisive role in rethinking Bogotá´s tenements and in designing homes for the most vulnerable population.