Green Spaces and Landscapes of Poverty in Andean-Region Cities

Abstract

Written by a forestry engineer with a master's degree in Forests and Environmental Conservation, this article analyzes how the distribution of urban green spaces functions as an indicator of social segregation in Latin American cities. The author documents how 20th-century urban planners long viewed the provision of green areas as a waste of expensive land, favoring a model of urban growth based on concrete. The text contrasts the green landscapes of wealthier residential areas with the landscapes of poverty in informal settlements on steep terrain, illustrating this pattern with examples from Medellín, São Paulo, Caracas, and Mexico City.