The spectacular growth of Lima's informal barriadas and pueblos jóvenes has long occupied a prominent place in the scholarly and popular imagination of Peru's twentieth-century history. For many, the image of Lima as a city of unconstrained and uncontrolled informal settlements was a singular symbol of what José Matos Mar dubbed the desborde popular that had overwhelmed Peru by the 1980s. Helen Gyger's new book, Improvised Cities, acknowledges the often-chaotic nature of twentieth-century urban Peru while also drawing attention to the innovative ways in which the country became a global leader in self-help housing—that is, housing and settlements that were built by their own residents. Gyger's book documents the serious attempts by architects, political leaders, academics, and everyday Peruvians to create sustainable, effective, and often quite innovative housing policies.
Gyger's book is an interdisciplinary engagement that traces historical change along with theories of architecture, design, and urbanism. Gyger and...
