Identity of Land Ownership :
A case study on the Municipality of Chicoloapan, Mexico
Design and Social Movements
The town of Chicoloapan has been developing as a district with very distinct Identities. The clash between the types of urban ownership promoted by the wide variety of housing development has created a multiplicity of urban environments. Ranging from formal establishments to informal settlements there are four distinct districts that have become the conditional neighborhoods for a vast array of people.
- How do you think land ownership can affect identity?
Located on the metropolitan zone of Mexico City, Chicoloapan was used as a site for housing development from the early nineties. The vast Ejido Lands of Chicoloapan were easily taken by the government, and then privatized for cheap housing developments. This contrast the other extreme of the city: the informal settlements. Searching for security, people often moved to these new "houses" not realizing of their under development and lack of infrastructure.
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About me!
My interest in architecture grew on trying to understand people’s interaction with space. I focus on the impact of self-built settlements on urban land. This pushed me and my partner - Michael Amidon - to research the municipality of Chicoloapan, Mexico City. Through the study an emphasis on understanding land control, division and rights to land ownership played a major role on the way in which urbanism – either planned or not – has developed within this municipality.
