Collaborative Housing in Chile: Policy, Precedents, Scenarios and Long-term Implementation Strategies

Policy, Precedents, Scenarios and Long-term Implementation Strategies

Abstract

In recent decades, the housing shortage and multi-dimensional housing challenges, including lack of physical quality, accessibility to urban amenities, lack of social characteristics and habitability conditions, have increased worldwide. In Latin American countries faced with some of these challenges, many governments have formulated a wide range of policies and housing programs. In Chile, the State has delegated housing production to private companies. This approach has mostly affected the location, quality, and social dimension of housing. In other urban contexts, such as in some European countries, inhabitants facing similar issues have self-organised to develop their homes driven by pragmatic and radical goals. From a Global North perspective, these initiatives, characterised by collaborative processes between future residents and external stakeholders in housing production, are labelled under the umbrella term of Collaborative Housing. In Latin America, there is also a long tradition of self-organisation in housing through self-building and self-management processes. In Chile, there has been recent interest from resident groups, third sector organisations and the current government in promoting collective self-organised housing through specific programs. However, the concept of collaborative housing has been mainly researched and theorised from a Global North perspective. Furthermore, the meaning and potential of collaborative housing to address housing deficits from a multi-dimensional standpoint have received limited attention in academic research in Chile. This PhD research fills this knowledge gap by applying the collaborative housing concept to study collective self-organised housing in Chile. To this end, it proposes a conceptualisation of ‘Collaborative Housing’ in the Latin American and Chilean context and determines its dimensions. It also investigates its opportunities and limitations when addressing the Social Deficit of Housing, plans scenarios, and proposes policy strategies. The research applies mixed methods, including a policy review, case studies, interviews, and Delphi-based scenario questionnaires. This dissertation concludes with scenarios and long-term policy strategies for three collaborative housing models emerging in the country: cooperativas cerradas de vivienda, pequeños condominios, and vivienda colectiva. It also provides recommendations that serve as a guide to stakeholders interested in implementing collaborative housing.