From Master-planned communities to Micro-Apartments: Social Housing in Bogotá 2005–2022

The Social Interest Housing (VIS) policy in Bogotá has been criticized for increasingly smaller apartment sizes and high prices per square meter. To understand this, the policy was monitored between 2005 and 2022 through a review of legislation and government programs, along with the analysis of a georeferenced database of VIS projects and their characteristics. The results show in Bogotá a transition from master-planned peripheral communities to micro-apartments in central areas, highlighting tensions between social inclusion and market dynamics. Initially, the master-planned communities reduced the housing deficit, but they also generated spatial segregation and developments in areas lacking basic services. With rising price caps and regulatory flexibilization, developments shifted toward the city center, but in the form of micro-apartments with high prices per square meter, which drew criticism over the loss of the social purpose of VIS. In conclusion, the challenge lies in ensuring accessible, dignified, and well-located housing, preventing VIS from becoming merely a real estate product without real impact on urban equity.