Dr Peter Kellett "Constructing the Contemporary City: Informal Housing Processes in Latin America"

Duration: 1 hour 2 mins 34 secs

Share this media item:

Embed this media item:

<iframe width="_width_" height="_height_" src="https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/1072887/embed" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Choose size:

About this item

Available Formats

About this item

Description:	ABSTRACT: Our understanding of how cities are planned and produced is being challenged by the expanding cities of Latin America. Here the majority of new construction is in the hands not of professionals, but large numbers of informal dwellers and grassroots organisations who create their own housing environments with only tangential links to official structures. Drawing on a long term ethnographic study of informal settlement growth in Colombia the lecture will explore aspects of these complex processes from the perspective of these ordinary ʻcity buildersʼ and discuss some of the implications for our understanding of city form and housing production. BIOGRAPHY: Peter Kellett is an architect and social anthropologist whose research focuses on the interrelationship between people and their dwelling environments. His doctoral research used ethnographic approaches to explore how the urban poor in Latin America create their own living places with minimal resources but considerable energy and ingenuity. He has worked on international research projects with a focus on informal settlements and livelihoods, and published extensively particularly on housing issues. His latest book is ‘Rethinking the Informal City: Critical Perspectives from Latin America’ (with Felipe Hernandez, Berghahn, 2009).

Description:

ABSTRACT:
Our understanding of how cities are planned and produced is being challenged by the expanding cities of Latin America. Here the majority of new construction is in the hands not of professionals, but large numbers of informal dwellers and grassroots organisations who create their own housing environments with only tangential links to official structures. Drawing on a long term ethnographic study of informal settlement growth in Colombia the lecture will explore aspects of these complex processes from the perspective of these ordinary ʻcity buildersʼ and discuss some of the implications for our understanding of city form and housing production.

BIOGRAPHY:
Peter Kellett is an architect and social anthropologist whose research focuses on the interrelationship between people and their dwelling environments. His doctoral research used ethnographic approaches to explore how the urban poor in Latin America create their own living places with minimal resources but considerable energy and ingenuity. He has worked on international research projects with a focus on informal settlements and livelihoods, and published extensively particularly on housing issues. His latest book is ‘Rethinking the Informal City: Critical Perspectives from Latin America’ (with Felipe Hernandez, Berghahn, 2009).


Created:	2010-09-26 21:32
Collection:	Martin Centre Research Seminar Series - 2010 Easter Term Martin Centre Research Seminar Series
Publisher:	University of Cambridge
Copyright:	P.Kellett - Martin Centre
Language:	eng (English)

Available Formats

Format	Quality	Bitrate	Size
MPEG-4 Video	480x360	1.84 Mbits/sec	866.12 MB	View
Flash Video	320x240	504.59 kbits/sec	231.23 MB	View
iPod Video	480x360	505.38 kbits/sec	231.59 MB	View
QuickTime (for download)	384x288	849.08 kbits/sec	389.09 MB	View
QuickTime (for streaming)	480x360	905.63 kbits/sec	415.01 MB	View
MP3	44100 Hz	125.02 kbits/sec	57.05 MB	Listen
RealAudio		582.15 kbits/sec	265.63 MB	View	Stream
Auto *	(Allows browser to choose a format it supports)