ABSTRACT
Since 2000, more than 115 million people came to live in urban areas in Latin America. Migration from rural to urban areas is still a major cause of population growth in cities in the region – by 2050, 90% of Latin Americans will be living in cities (UN-Habitat, 2016). This phenomenon is far from new. Throughout the 20th century, in particular after the urbanization boom starting in the 1950s, this trend caused infrastructural, economic, environmental, and social disruptions in cities throughout the continent. Uncontrolled urban expansion destroyed large swaths of natural areas, including forests, animal habitats, and rivers – often jeopardizing the lives of those who moved to cities in the first place.
