comparative study of quality of housing in latin america

Location: Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica and Belize | By Anqi Guo

SAS M12

ARCH2500 COMPARATIVE STUDY OF QUALITY OF HOUSING IN LATIN AMERICA

Anqi Guo 5/28/12 WALLS PERU Street Study

Life on the walls. Lima is a lively city in that no matter what kind of residential area a person is at, they can see lives, from pigeons on the wall of colonial church, to evergreen on the wall of a normal house.

SAS M12 QUALITY OF HOUSING

Anqi Guo 5/26/12 Miraflores, Lima, Peru Street Study

This area is very biker-friendly: I can nearly cycle the whole area without having to stop. The bike lane is wide, in the middle of the road, and protected by pedestrians, trees and benches. The trees and the specific surrounding-rich-area route reduce noise that bikers might hear.



Anqi Guo 5/25/12 Villa El Salvador, Lima, Peru Street Study

The shantytown uphill Lima shows the expansion of informal housing in Peru. The upgrading process involves: living here, collecting building materials and constructing more formal/brick-based housing. Electricity and sanitation is not provided. The local architect told us he would not buy pork that is produced here.


Anqi Guo 6/2/12 WALLS Ecuador Street Study

Different walls around Manta. The government-sponsored social housing looks very different to the ordinary local houses. They look nicer, standardized, and uniform, but also are far away from the downtown. Few buses pass the social housing areas.

This group of four photos shows how the Ecuadorians use bamboos to construct their houses. It is interesting to notice how similar the construction method in term of technique is to the production method of some local clothes (Panama Hat).


Anqi Guo 6/4/12 Puerto Lopez, Ecuador Street Study

Beachfront street and public space. Trees and elevated walkway reduce the sand from beach being blown to the main street. This is a relaxing and slow-moving town but the fish market at the beach is very crowded.


Anqi Guo 6/4/12 Manta, Ecuador Street Study

Port life. The street is wide with car-friendly lanes but not-so-friendly bicycle lane. When I cycled there, sand was blown into my eyes. The passing-by cars were making a huge noise. A lot of taxis.


Anqi Guo 6/6/12 WALLS Panama Street Study

From Casco Antiguo to Panama Viejo, from the ordinary residential housing to the Miraflores Locks, walls are presented of sharp difference in different areas of Panama. One thing to notice is that the restoration of the old buildings, in term of material and color, actually mixes perfectly with the town, like the veils on buildings. They didn’t destroy the beauty of the old buildings, covering but at the same time revealing the pride of the buildings in the past.


Anqi Guo 6/7/12 Amador, Panama Street Study

The building in Panama is relatively higher than the Ecuador’s. These are houses where the American army and their family lived. The street dimensions are like the canals. Four units are in a house. Now these really nice buildings are for offices or private residential housings.


Anqi Guo 6/7/12 Casco Antiguo, Panama Street Study

Casco Antiguo is an old town that is under restoration in Panama. The typical plaza is surrounded by Spanish and French architectures. Most people rest in the plaza are the engineers or workers who worked nearby.


Anqi Guo 6/10/12 WALLS Costa Rica Street Study

Most of the walls in Costa Rica are very open: The more indigenous buildings in rural areas have low walls, huge windows or fences, and many times elevated first floor to insure the light and airflow. The old Spanish buildings in downtown areas have outstanding balconies that enable “eyes on the street”. The modern buildings seem not so welcoming with their giant sealed warehouse walls and standardized flat windows. The fences for cows and horses are the minimum among all the walls for dwellers: basically just four lines of wires, and usually only one-sided.

Anqi Guo 6/10/12 Puerto Limon, Costa Rica Public graveyard study

The design of public graveyard for Chinese residents in Puerto Limon reflects the blended culture. The main architecture is a typical Chinese temple with walls and Chinese/English characters on it. However, it also has the Cross which shows the influence of catholic belief.



Anqi Guo 6/10/12 Puerto Limon, Costa Rica Street Study

The town of Puerto Limon. The buildings here are tall but not as tall as those of Panama. There are a lot of street food vendors, looking more formal than those of Peru. Like Peru, the electricity wires are all over the place.

comparative study of quality of housing in latin america

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