Latin American Studies ETDs

Publication Date

4-16-1969

Abstract

In Peru, as in most other South American countries, intensified internal migration—an important but largely unstudied aspect of population dynamics—has stimulated the population growth of one inordinately large city. Metropolitan Lima, Peru’s “primate” city, has increased greatly in size since the 1930’s, and a considerable proportion of this increment is attributable to the absorption of internal migrants coming mostly from the highlands. Within the migrant stream settling in Lima, this distinguishable highland component significantly has affected the city’s residential structure. Existing data do not allow a precise quantitative description of highland migrants entering Lima. Moreover, the terms “highlander” or “serrano” carry cultural connotations which vary regionally in Peru. Nonetheless, the “average highland migrant” probably comes from the ubiquitous cholo group, he has little vested interest in the land, and he has obtained some degree of urban experience before permanently moving to Lima. Upon reaching Lima, the serranos are funneled into the lower-class slums or interior barriadas of the central city, most often where relatives or friends live or have established a network of contacts. Initially, serranos receive discriminatory treatment mainly on the basis of observable cultural mannerisms which set them apart from the rest of the urban populace. However, after a period of adjustment and acculturation, serranos can develop considerable mobility within Lima’s residential milieu. The accelerated influx of highland migrants after the 1930’s helped create conditions of subsequent occupancy and overcrowding in the inner city. Finally, by the mid-1940’s a population density/housing facility threshold was reached in the urban core. Dating from the mid-1940’s to the 1960’s, the continued in-migration not only has exacerbated the processes of inner city subsequent occupancy and housing deterioration, but also the migrants have been instrumental in perpetrating massive squatter settlements onto unoccupied pubic territory. There is a strong possibility that an increasing number of the more recent migrants may be bypassing the central city altogether in favor of initial settlement in the peripheral suburban barriadas. When the major models of urban residential structure are applied to Lima, it can be seen that an industrializing city of its size and complexity conforms in a general sense to each of the models. However, all of these models focus primarily on the influence of the elite in shaping the city’s residential structure. It is suggested here that knowledge of the background and direction of internal migrant movements—particularly that recent vast influxes into most capital cities of Latin America—could render an important service as a cross-cultural, comparative technique for understanding urban spatial structure.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Latin American Studies

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Latin American Studies

First Committee Member (Chair)

Richard E. Murphy

Second Committee Member

Karl H. Schwerin

Third Committee Member

Nancie L. Solien de Gonzales

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