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This article presents information on the residential movements of the low income families of Bogotá, Colombia. Two types of illegal housing settlements are considered: the housing settlement of invasion that is formed by the illegal occupation of private or public land without payment for that land, and the pirate housing settlement. The latter is originated by the acquisition of peripheral land by developers who subsequently sell it by lot to individual families. The land transaction is legal. But the dwelling units constructed in these settlements are often in violation of the municipal codes for housing developments. It is opined that the residential location of low-income families is constrained by the structure of the housing and land markets. This article makes an attempt to identify the dynamic forces that determine the low-income family residential choices by location and housing tenancy. It also examines the process of suburbanization of low-income groups and the physical growth pattern of the metropolitan region.

This article discusses population densities, land values and socioeconomic class in Bogota, Colombia. The purpose of this paper is to present some empirical evidence on the nature of the relationship of population densities and land values to socioeconomic class in this major Spanish American city. The tendency of a population to concentrate may be based upon the concept "that the cost of any movement across space, measured either in terms of the time or energy expended, increases with the length of the movement." Two additional generalizations about humans and their interactions must be assumed: First, the benefit or value derived from a movement by a human and the second, human beings will seek to minimize the costs of time and energy involved in interactions and exchanges. In attempting to appraise the relationship of population densities to socioeconomic class in Bogota, some measures or indices of population densities must be obtained and related to corresponding population socioeconomic characteristics in order to establish the form and quality of relationships existing between these two variables.

The article describes the culture of the Barrio de la 65 in Bogota, Colombia. The case of this barrio does not meet the requirements of an established culture of poverty, The level of poverty is distinct in being one of extreme destitution and privation. The way of life is an emergent, not an established, life style. Established norms are functionally inoperable and norms to replace them have not spontaneously developed to meet the exigencies of the barrio. There is good reason to suggest that this situation should be classified as a distinct example of Durkheim's anomie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both medical and curer facilities are abundant in Bogota. 'Dual use' of both seems to be most popular among the low acculturation, low socio-economic group. Attendance at traditional curers decline with increasing acculturation to the urban milieu, and with increasing socio-economic level. 'Modern' concepts of medical casualty are minimal within the lower class group. Thus, attendance at the clinic does not necessarily mirror patient compatibility with causal and symptomal values of modern medicine. However, patients are aware of the varying approaches of curer and physician. They view some overt responses to illness as being more apropos to one healing milieu than the other. The dual use phenomenon reveals three major patterns. These are competition, compartmentalization and exploitation.

The article reports on the center opened by the Population Reference Bureau Inc. (PRB) for its International Population Program in Bogota, Colombia. Dr. Jorge Eliécer Ruiz, Director of Planning at the National University of Columbia, will manage the office under the direct supervision of the Latin American Department of the PRB in Washington. Through this department, headed by Alvaro García-Peña, the PRB will translate materials developed in English, as well as to distribute population information in Spanish and Portuguese.