Anatomy of a White Elephant: Analysis of the Failure of a Housing Macroproject in Colombia

Abstract

Unfinished infrastructure works that generate high economic and social costs for cities represent a problem for urban planning. This article aims to study an unfinished macroproject carried out in Manizales (Colombia) since 2009, within the framework of a National Government policy created to promote urban renewal for housing purposes. It is an urban planning operation which has low implementation rates, non-compliance, increased costs, and that affected individual and collective rights and produced urban chaos in the city center. We analyzed a normative contradiction that allowed the interests of actors representing the National Government, the construction sector and financial capital to transform a central area of the city, with little citizen participation, representing a set of actors and interests that were inconvenient for local development. We also find that this initiative lacks articulation with a city project, which guarantees its continuity and coherence. The results are derived from qualitative research, focused on methods of documentary analysis, interviews and a systematic review of the local press.

Keywords:
City Project; Housing; Urban planning; Urban renewal; Urban governance