Who needs housing in Latin America? Co-residence in housing deficit estimates

Abstract

Two long and persistent phenomena in Latin America are poor quality housing and the response of the co-residence of homes and families out of necessity, with a wide dispersion in the way they are measured. The objective of this article is to define the problem conceptually and to unravel the theoretical matrix that underlies the different ways of measuring the quantitative component of the housing deficit, especially with regard to the accounting, or not, of secondary family nuclei as requesting units of living place. Secondly, it contributes to the discussion based on the demographic analysis of the co-residence structures empirically analyzed in the metropolitan regions of Bogota and Buenos Aires. As a result, it was possible to identify that the co-residence of nuclei and households can be a non-exclusive functional residential strategy for the poorest groups, especially in the Bogotan context, and that its existence facilitates mutual care inside the dwelling. However, co-residence also hides an unsatisfied demographic demand, concealed by complex dysfunctional residential arrangements, highly representative numerically in the two contexts analyzed. The treatment of these situations raises a debate on the targeting of public policy to solve the housing deficit, and the situations that should be prioritized to guarantee the right to housing from the perspective of housing needs and not just market needs.