Emotions and housing in peripheral informal settlements in the Guadalajara metropolitan area, Mexico

Abstract

Housing is much more than a physical space. It is at the heart of people's social and emotional lives, providing security, identity and community ties. In Mexico, access to adequate housing is a challenge for those who work in the informal sector, lack benefits or earn low incomes, as financing systems are limited and the housing market is prone to speculation. Faced with these barriers, many people have settled in informal settlements, where lack of basic services, legal insecurity and precarious living conditions prevail. This ethnographic research was developed through semi-structured interviews and participant observation in three informal settlements located on the outskirts of Zapopan, within the metropolitan area of Guadalajara. The findings highlight that home ownership is a central element in the inhabitants' narratives. This generates feelings of pride and satisfaction at having obtained a space of their own. However, these evaluations coexist with stories of structural deficiencies, insecurity and lack of services. Thus, a positive re-signification of the inhabited environment is observed, which combines symbolic appropriation with experiences of precariousness and urban exclusion.