Formalizing the Informal City: Land, Housing, and the Fineza Program in 1970s Mexico

Urban informality has gained a prominent place in scholarship on social inequality in Latin America. The informal status of poor settlements in urban areas is often identified as a major source of inequality and deprivation. However, after one informal settlement or area gains land titles and legal status, attention is redirected to another surge of poor settlements, thus perpetuating a constant state of urgency. This common pattern underscores the need for historical research into the long-term consequences of regularizing informal settlements. Drawing on research from Mexico’s Ciudad Neza, this presentation will identify several research problems historians face when studying the transformations of an in/formal space over long stretches of time. Specifically, the presentation will focus on residents’ access to water services as a way to evaluate the impact of land regularization on public utilities. More than simply infrastructure, the procurement of water encompasses broader issues of public health and gender divisions, while also providing a rare view into the everyday practices of families relegated to Mexico’s urban peripheries.