Popular Settlements in Times of Neoliberalism: A Socio-demographic Approach to an Informal Urbanization in the City of Neuquén

Abstract

This work intends to present urban informality in Neuquén, an intermediate city located in northern Patagonia, Argentina. In order to analyze the processes of conformation and growth of settlements, the neighborhood of Villa Ceferino is taken as a paradigmatic case of popular urbanization. With this goal in mind, the work, at first, explores the effect of the neoliberalization process on the social map. In a second section, through the use of different heuristic resources, from reports to oral testimonies, it focuses on the characteristics developed in this particular settlement, noting the stages of its urbanization and the shared experiences that resulted in urban integration processes. Finally, and making an intensive use of the information provided by the 2001 National Census, it traces a socio-demographic profile of Villa Ceferino, taking into consideration different aspects such as the migratory origin of the population, age and gender distribution, household composition, degree of overcrowding, the quality of housing materials and well-being levels.