Real Estate Dynamics on the Margins: Land Traffickers as Promoters of Urban Land (Peru); [Dinâmicas imobiliárias nas margens: traficantes de terra como promotores de solo urbano (Peru)]

Dammert-Guardia M.; Torres-Obregón D.; Aiquipa-Zavala A. · Revista INVI (2025) · DOI: 10.5354/0718-8358.2025.75871

Resumen

Since the mid-20th century, the importance of territorial social organizations and invasion modalities in popular urbanization has been recognized in Peru. However, in the 21st century, the conditions for producing new urban land have changed, with market-driven and speculative land dynamics predominating. In this context, land trafficking has gained greater importance. This article presents the results of a study conducted in three areas of recent urban expansion (2000–2022) in the cities of Lima, Arequipa, and Tacna. The research involved 91 semi-structured interviews with key actors, as well as documentary and geospatial analysis. The findings provide an explanation of how different actors (associations, leaders, residents, and non-resident buyers) engage with the new conditions of land commodification and speculation. Furthermore, we propose that land traffickers constitute broad and heterogeneous networks that aim to appropriate, hoard, and speculate on land. They operate by promoting various forms of social and territorial coordination, as well as legitimacy logics, in a context where plots serve both to meet needs and as a form of savings and future investment. Land trafficking is a heterogeneous dynamic characterized by ambivalent intermediaries in a new model of urbanization that is highly precarious, vulnerable, and often involves the use of violence.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú