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Squatters, Pirates, And Entrepreneurs: Is Informality The Solution To The Urban Housing Crisis?, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2008

Squatters, Pirates, And Entrepreneurs: Is Informality The Solution To The Urban Housing Crisis?, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

Giving the poor legal title to the lands they occupy extra-legally (informally) has been widely promoted by the World Bank and by best-selling author Hernando de Soto as a means of addressing both poverty and the scarcity of affordable housing in the urban centers of the global South. Using Bogotá, Colombia, as a case study, this article interrogates de Soto’s claims about the causes of informality and the benefits of formal title. The article concludes that de Soto’s analysis is problematic in three distinct respects. First, de Soto exaggerates the benefits of formal title and fails to consider its risks. …


Is Nafta A Good Model For China?: Lessons From Mexico And The United States, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2008

Is Nafta A Good Model For China?: Lessons From Mexico And The United States, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

In response to skyrocketing food prices, the global financial crisis, and the degradation of farm lands due to urbanization and industrialization, China has placed rural development at the top of its political agenda. China’s renewed emphasis on rural development is taking place against a backdrop of global efforts to reduce trade barriers in the agricultural sector. This article uses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a case study on the complex ways that trade policy affects domestic efforts to protect the environment and promote rural development. The objective is to draw lessons from the experiences of the United …


Is Nafta A Good Model For China? Lessons From Mexico And The United States, Carmen G. Gonzalez Dec 2008

Is Nafta A Good Model For China? Lessons From Mexico And The United States, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Carmen G. Gonzalez

In response to skyrocketing food prices, the global financial crisis, and the degradation of farm lands due to urbanization and industrialization, China has placed rural development at the top of its political agenda. China’s renewed emphasis on rural development is taking place against a backdrop of global efforts to reduce trade barriers in the agricultural sector. This article uses the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a case study on the complex ways that trade policy affects domestic efforts to protect the environment and promote rural development. The objective is to draw lessons from the experiences of the United …