ABSTRACT

This chapter identifies and discusses the conditions faced by families living in some of the most vulnerable areas of Lima, Peru and highlights some of the strategies that are employed to mitigate the risks faced. A key issue increasing vulnerability of the barrio relates to the seeming confusion over whether the neighbourhood is informal or formal. The chapter focuses on barrio Primero De Mayo, a community living on the site of a former rubbish dump in Caqueta, one of Lima’s densest and poorest areas. The visitor to barrio Primero de Mayo is firstly faced with the difference in height from the surrounding neighbourhood; the barrio, sited on the top of the garbage tip, consolidated with earth and rubble, is approximately three metres higher than its neighbouring settlements. The barrio has flourished in spite of overwhelming problems including poor land, shortage of resources and official opposition.