Inner peripheries of Lima: Location and identification of vulnerability-generating neighborhoods. The case of San Cosme

Authors

  • Paula Kapstein López Universidad Católica del Norte
  • Edith Aranda Dioses Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería

Abstract

A system of inner peripheries has been identified in downtown Lima, comprising a series of old slums that makes up an urban entity with its own characteristics and problems.These slumswere part of the northern periphery of Lima until the 1950s and extended along the course of the Rimac River, the then-border between the district of Lima and the emerging northern extension of the urban area.
The objective of this paper is to demarcate the system of inner peripheries and identify the neighborhoods that act as focal points of vulnerability within the system.
The methodology used by this research is based both on a cartographic analysis of the growth experienced by Lima from 1940 to 1981 and the study of the urban and social conditions of neighborhoods that act as focal points of vulnerability. This research describes the case of San Cosme, which by reasons of its age and its geomorphological and urban characteristics is one of the paradigmatic slums of Lima. The findings of this paper support the need to generate a Master Plan on Rehabilitation Strategies aimed at the inner peripheries of Lima.

Author Biographies

Paula Kapstein López, Universidad Católica del Norte

Architect, University of Valparaiso. PhD in Urbanism, Technical University of Madrid. Professor, School of Architecture, Northern Catholic University.

Edith Aranda Dioses, Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería

Sociologist, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. MSc, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Principal professor at National University of Engineering.