Paula Camila Diaz-Torres
Graduate Student, M.R.P. '22
Planning, Rural Housing, and Peace in Colombia: A territorial approach to reparations
After over 50 years, in 2016, the Colombian government signed a peace agreement with the country's oldest guerrilla group, hoping to end one of the longest-lasting armed conflicts in the world. Recognizing that the rural population has been in the crossfire and disproportionally affected by the conflict, the agreement mandated a comprehensive rural reform and prioritized 16 subregions composed of 170 municipalities with specific administrative and socioeconomic vulnerabilities. To accomplish a systemic change, the agreement created the "Development Programs with Territorial Approach," an instrument to harmonize the peace-related public policies at different administrative scales. Focusing on the implementation of the Rural Social Housing Program in one of the prioritized subregions, the project explores the challenges of using this new public policy instrument and the government vertical and horizontal cooperation dynamics working on addressing inequality and advancing social justice in rural Colombia through a territorial approach to reparations.
