Una Ciudad de Contrastes. Public Space and Architecture Between Gated Communities and the Informally Developed City. Case Study: Bogotá, Colombia.

Gated communities have been the largely studied due to their effect on urban development and the social dynamics around them. In recent years, efforts have focused on understanding how this model was replicated worldwide and the how it adapts to different local contexts. This is the case of Bogotá, where, in despite of new regulations trying to prevent the construction of enclaves inside the city, it continues to be the main housing typology under development. At the same time, Bogotá, like many of the cities in global south, grew largely through informal development, with self-built neighborhoods emerging in the peripheries and slowly being absorbed by the city. Most of the research surrounding gated communities in Bogotá is focused on their emergence, their direct effect on the city and security, and how they became a universal housing solution throughout the city and the country. However, in several parts of the city, these enclaves sit right next to informally developed neighborhoods, creating a visible contrast between two very different ways of building and living in the city. This thesis explores the spatial and social dynamics in the areas where they encounter. Aiming to better understand the physical and social divisions that emerge, and investigate how urban design and architecture can mediate the threshold in between these contrasting realities. The research is structured in five chapters, the first is a theoretical and contextual framework looking into the global emergence and local translations of gated communities. The second gives a general insight on the global phenomenon of informal settlements, and provides a whole-city analysis on Bogotá’s particularities regarding both typologies and its general patterns of segregation, arriving to the conclusion that socio-economic differences, although largely present in the whole city, are not necessarily universal to every place where both typologies meet. The third is a case-study analysis on interventions focusing on urban and social division through design, highlighting strategies that address enclosure, public space, and participation. The fourth chapter is an in-depth analysis that centers on a specific site in the north periphery of the city where both urban forms converge, with a historical, morphological, and social analysis. Based on that investigation and the strategies explored in the third chapter, the fifth presents a design proposal that aims to reclaim open spaces currently acting as barriers, transforming them into shared public spaces that intend to open gated communities to their surroundings, and provide public space and infrastructure for the informally developed neighborhoods. Rather than trying to erase the differences between these two urban forms, this thesis seeks to recognize the challenges and values of each, exploring how they can complement each other to create a more connected and inclusive city.