(In) security, transformer of urban spaces Altos de Santa Elena Urbanization – Cali

Abstract

The notions of security of a population can define its relationship with space. This article analyzes this relationship in an urbanization of social housing, where the inhabitants, upon arrival, exercise practices to have security based on their perceptions, conceptions and experiences. The study investigates the social and spatial transformations of the Altos de Santa Elena urbanization in the city of Cali based on two notions of (in)security: security as surveillance and physical protection and security as well-being, which has the implicit coexistence and formation of the social fabric. The methodology applied was of a qualitative nature in order to collect versions of the problem from the inhabitants of the urbanisation, the neighbours and the institutions involved. The results consider a historical sketch of the construction, the settlement of the houses, together with the daily routes of the inhabitants and the notions of security in relation to the practices they adopt and make them feel safe. Finally, the conclusions discuss the prevalence of security as surveillance in the perception of the inhabitants and in the socio-spatial configuration of urbanization.