The impact of COVID 19 in Argentina and Chile’s informal settlement: Populous habitats and ways of living in times of crisis

Abstract

This article aims to analyse and compare the family’s and community’s reproduction strategies used by migrant households, during the COVID-19 pandemic situation, in the following informal settlements located in Argentina and Chile: Altos de Placilla Nuevo in Valparaíso City (Chile) and Villa 20 in Buenos Aires City (Argentina). Specifically, we propose to address the impact of the pandemic on urban-environmental and precarious economic conditions in two countries of the Global South that have a predominant international migration. From the perspective of subaltern urbanisation and the intersectionality of inequalities, the different modalities of city production in Latin America will be analysed, placing special emphasis on decommodifying practices ‘from below’ and ‘from above’. Among its main findings, structural problems and common strategies of households in both inner-city neighbourhoods facing the pandemic could be glimpsed, thus transcending their specificities in regards to their location, size and government interventions in each country. To carry out this work, a participatory methodology was used that combines qualitative and quantitative procedures.