Inhabiting Debt

Debt is not something that can be circumscribed to the relationship between economies, finance, 'development' and society, but operates within phenomena of intensifying social, gender and racial inequalities, as well as in the various forms of environmental and climate injustice. Conceived as a practice of dwelling, debt manifests itself according to precise forms of spatial production that responds to political and climate challenges with new modes of operation and design solutions.

This book examines the relationship between access to housing and indebtedness in four emblematic neighborhoods in Ecuador. Drawing on observations of social housing districts and interviews with the inhabitants, this volume identifies characteristics of the relationship between informal private debt and spatial production processes that cross scales and intertwine with geopolitical dynamics. This collaboration with the Schools of Architecture of the Universities of Loja and Quito aims to both make visible the 'presence' of debt within the processes of contemporary spatial production and to (re)define strategies for spaces and living with debt.

Addresses the issue of debt as a spatial, urban, and architectural phenomenon Draws on cases studies in Ecuador to illustrate globally relevant trends Highlights lessons from social housing neighborhoods, ordinary living spaces, and informal contexts

Autorentext

Antonio di Campli is Associate Professor with tenure track in Urbanism at the Politecnico di Torino, DIST, Dipartimento Interateneo di Scienze, Progetto e Politiche del Territorio. He received a PhD in Urban Planning from the University of Chieti-Pescara and a Master of Architecture from the IUAV University in Venice. His research projects won grants from Politecnico di Torino, Università di Camerino, Universidad Tecnica Particular de Loja. He received prestigious fellowships from EPFL, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Politecnico di Torino, and Senescyt, Quito. He has taught at many universities in Europe and Latin America.

His research interests lie at the intersection of urban studies, urban planning and social sciences and concern the issue of 'coexistence between differences', a term that describes issues related to the conflict/interaction between multiple ecologies, practices of living in and producing space. In particular, specific research areas concern: decolonial urbanism; forms and ecologies of coexistence between different social groups and socio-spatial ecologies; and the rural as a political and design category.

Inhalt

Chapter 1. The Spazialization of Debt.- Chapter 2. Debt and economic-cultural resilience in social housing programs in Quito: The Carapungo and Solanda neighbourhoods.- Chapter 3. This never ends: The everlasting conflict between debt, spatial growth, and home beautification in Solanda and Carapungo.- Chapter 4. The impact of debt on the transformation of social housing programmes in the city of Loja - Ecuador.- Chapter 5 Conclusions. Debt spaces as "burn zones" between subjugation and resistance strategies.