Lack of housing is a problem in Bolivia, migrations from rural areas to towns
causes problems in the fast growing cities. Since urban planning does not have
the resources to keep up with the need for housing many settlements are illegal
and often lead to a land use conflict. In some cities large parts of the
population live in spontaneous settlements, often in areas planned for another
use of land.
In Cochabamba the number of inhabitants has grown rapidly, particularly in the
past few decades. Many of the immigrants are low-income people who search
housing in areas accessible to their incomes. Low-income groups search housing
through illegal establishment in peripheral zones.
The high housing costs in most of the districts of the city make housing
provided through legal conditions unaffordable for them. In Cochabamba the
expansion takes place in the outskirts of the city and the land use conflict is
about the conflict between land set aside for agriculture purpose and illegal
settlements.
In focus for our study has been the area Maria Auxiliadora in District 9,
Cochabamba. A group of women got together with a wish to build houses of their
own. The area is situated on
a hillside in an area for agricultural use but on a piece of land not suitable
for this use because of the steep and rocky terrain. There are several non
governmental organizations involved with a common ambition to build a
cooperative housing area. Cooperative housing is a new experience in Bolivia
which could be a beginning of a new way of thinking and a new way to solve the
housing problem in the country. There is a growing interest, both from the
government and from people that need land for housing, of this new form of
living. The Bolivian cooperative housing program is formed out of a concept
used in Uruguay.
In this study we focus on spatial planning issues for cooperative housing.
Through spatial planning we demonstrate how housing areas can be planned in the
future with focus on cooperative thinking and living. The project area, Maria
Auxiliadora, has been used as a case study. Maria Auxiliadora has a spatial
plan and houses are already under construction but the plan does not consider
cooperative thoughts and needs.
We have developed two individual proposals and one proposal jointly. The first
individual proposal treats generally aspects of how to plan a cooperative
housing area in Bolivia. The proposal treats for example how many inhabitants
that is to prefer in a cooperative, physical aspects of the outdoor environment
and other physical arrangements that can give the area great opportunities to
be a well functioning cooperative housing area. It also illustrates house types
that can be used in a cooperative and how the houses can be grouped to promote
the cooperative thoughts. One part is treating how to build in steep terrain
though many of the new housing areas is situated in steep terrain.
The second individual proposal illustrates how an area like Maria Auxiliadora
can be planned in the future. The proposal consider cooperative thinking and
needs in line with the first individual proposal. Maria Auxiliadora is situated
in steep terrain and it is likely that other new housing areas will be planned
in similar terrain. The proposal illustrates the possibility to place houses in
groups around a shared garden even in steep terrain to give the area great
opportunities to act as a well functioning cooperative housing area. Even a
design pr...
