Urban informality and pathways to formalization : Settlement formalization and urban citizenship in Cali, Colombia

Sammanfattning

This research project examines why some informal settlements are included in the urban and legal framework, whereas others remain excluded. Informality affects residents’ daily livelihoods; therefore, understanding what drives formalization may improve urban life. Drawing on modernization theory and the right to the city theory, the research formulates two competing explanations of formalization: a market-led and participation-led logic. These logics are scrutinized through a comparative case study. The study employs explaining-outcome process tracing. The cases selected, located on Cali’s western hillsides, are Brisas de las Palmas and Altos de Siloé. Brisas de las Palmas achieved formal recognition in 2023, whereas informality persists in Altos de Siloé. The analysis shows that participation-led mechanisms best explain Brisas de las Palmas’ incorporation. Bottom-up mobilization built capacity and enabled formal-informal partnerships, facilitating the settlement’s formalization. In contrast, Altos de Siloé’s persistent informality is explained by distrust of the government, which obstructed formal-informal partnerships, and by restrictive land-use regulations that limited private actors’ involvement in settlement formalization. These constraints obstructed both participation- and market-led pathways to formalization, despite community resilience and local initiatives. The study reveals that participation-led mechanisms alone are insufficient to achieve formalization, as formalization requires trust-based cooperation between formal and informal actors, and land-use restrictions are important determinants of formalization. The study contributes to academic theory by identifying mechanisms that may be transferable to different contexts. Furthermore, most existing academic literature focuses on the lived experiences in informal settlements, whereas this project focuses on settlements’ shifts towards formality.