Frequently Asked Questions
Q: So, what are you doing?
A: We are traveling to South America to study and document the way designers address challenges in informal settlements. We will then share this information online and through publications and a lecture series.
Q: What are informal cities?
A: Informal cities are officially defined as areas where groups of housing units have been constructed on land that the occupants have no legal claim to, or occupy illegally. Also know as shanty towns, squatter, informal or spontaneous settlements, these places often lack proper sanitation, clean water supply, hygienic streets, or other basic human necessities. For the most part these places lack some or all government regulation and are often ignored by designers operating in the traditional or formal city system. They're also often related to over populated cities and inadequate housing supply.
Q: Why is this important?
A: As the world urbanizes more and more people will be living in informal communities. It is estimated that 1 in 8 people currently lack secure housing, and that number will continue to grow. It is estimated that by 2030 1 in 4 people in the world will live in an informal settlement. As future architects dedicated to addressing this housing problem, we must understand these conditions in order to design for them.
Informal communities in South America are especially interesting to us because they have existed longer than other similar communities in the Global South. Innovative housing and infrastructure solutions are created in these locations that can inform problems faced in newer, emerging informal communities in places such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Also, these places often exist without strict government regulations, and therefore create housing solutions in ways that are otherwise impossible in a heavily regulated built environment like the United States.
Informal communities in South America are especially interesting to us because they have existed longer than other similar communities in the Global South. Innovative housing and infrastructure solutions are created in these locations that can inform problems faced in newer, emerging informal communities in places such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Also, these places often exist without strict government regulations, and therefore create housing solutions in ways that are otherwise impossible in a heavily regulated built environment like the United States.
Q: How will you share the information?
A: With donations raised through our IndieGoGo campaign we will be able to purchase audio and video equipment necessary to record interviews with architects and designers, community organizers, and professors. We will also photograph and sketch important built projects. From this gathered information we will produce a short documentary series and be able to present our information through presentations
Q: If I don't live in a city that you will be presenting in, how can I see your work?
A: The information we gather will be made available online through an interactive website. This will include photographs, sketches and the documentary mini-series.
Have another question?
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