The elimination of informal settlements in Uruguay is a matter of political will, an official from Uruguay's center-right wing Blanco party told BNamericas, commenting on a US$70mn loan provided by IDB to improve the quality of life for residents in these settlements.
With a total population of only 3.4mn inhabitants, experts believe Uruguay should not have informal settlements, as it is not very expensive to solve this problem compared to other countries in the region, the official added.
IDB FUNDING
IDB recently approved a US$70mn loan to organize and improve conditions in settlements in capital Montevideo, the financial entity reported in a release.
This is the first loan under a conditional US$300mn credit line extended to Uruguay by the bank.
The funding aims to provide residents of the settlements with adequate infrastructure and municipal services to integrate them with the rest of the city.
The resources will be invested in 25 informal settlements and two semi-formal areas, benefitting more than 7,300 households located mainly on the outskirts of the capital.
Works include expanding basic services such as potable water and sanitation to these areas and building local roads to facilitate the access of public transport and waste collection.
REGULATING SETTLEMENTS
Informal settlements in Uruguay are being analyzed and organized under a program known as PIAI, which is managed by the housing ministry and has offices in each of the country's departments.
According to a report released by the organization "a roof for my country," which seeks to expand access to legal housing, there are a total of 251,884 inhabitants living in a total of 566 informal settlements, of which 61.1% are located in Montevideo.
The study also said that 71.9% of the households in informal settlements are built using solid construction materials, proving they have been there for some time.
A total of 9.2% of the settlements are located on state-owned lands, 53.3% on public sites and 32.4% on private land, while 3.4% are located on public-private land.
At least one inhabitant has a potable water connection in 71.1% of the settlements, while at least one has electricity in 73.3% of the settlements. At least one in 14.5% of the settlements receives sewerage services.
Meanwhile, 88.6% have access to potable water at home, mainly through illegal connections. Only 2% do not have access to this service at all.
In two of the settlements, 50% of the population will be relocated to new housing provided by the state, an official from Montevideo's PIAI office told BNamericas. The rest will simply be improved.
Organizing illegal settlements in-situ is not the best option, an official from Chilean capital Santiago's government told BNamericas, adding that this tends to encourage the formation of new informal settlements.
Instead, the official said, the people should be given state-subsidized homes built in regulated areas, with well-designed basic service networks.
WASTE COLLECTION
Many of those who live in settlements contribute to the city's waste collection service by collecting garbage using horse-drawn carriages, an official from the national PIAI office told BNamericas.
The government, in the hands of the ruling left-wing coalition Frente Amplio, has taken a number of steps to organize these informal waste collectors.
However, providing regulations for them has only led to an increase in their numbers.
Members of the opposition argue the government has contributed to the increase by promoting them instead of trying to create new jobs in the rest of the country.
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