Inner-city rental housing in Lima - A portrayal and an explanation

Since the second half of the 1980s, practitioners and researchers have been paying attention to what may be labelled the oldest type of housing for low-income groups in modern Latin America, namely inner-city rental housing. An important conclusion that can be drawn from a review of the studies executed over the last 15 years is the fact that there appear to exist significant differences between Latin American cities regarding the quantitative importance of this segment of the urban housing market and the explanations for its current "state-of-thearf'. In this paper I discuss the often poor physical conditions of these dwellings, the lack of sufficient and good services, the tight accommodations and the socio-economic characteristics of owners and tenant households, as well as the factors contributing to this situation. I do this by elaborating upon the case of the Peruvian capital Lima, where the so-called tugurios comprise an important alternative for poor households who prefer to live in the inner city. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.