Publication
26 November 2020
From aid to empowerment: Addressing urban displacement in Colombia’s informal settlements
This study examines urban internal displacement in Colombia and analyses the humanitarian response to the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs) and their host communities in informal settlements. Research was undertaken in Altos de la Florida, an informal settlement in Soacha on the outskirts of Bogotá, between 2016 and 2019.
Context
Colombia has the second-highest number of internally displaced people in the world, with 5.6 million. Nearly 90 per cent of the country’s IDPs have been displaced from rural to urban areas by conflict and violence, and informal urban settlements have become a refuge of last resort for many.
Internal displacement has played a significant role in the country’s rapid urbanisation. Around a quarter of the built areas of Colombian cities are informal settlements, as such urban areas have been at the forefront of the response to internal displacement.
Read the report in Spanish here (PDF).
Read the stories of three Colombians all displaced from rural to urban areas in our multimedia story feature.
