Land as an Urban Asset: Territorial Production and Occupation Processes in the Periphery of Santiago, Cusco

Territorial production in Latin America has historically been understood as the outcome of two dominant social logics: the market and the state. In recent decades, however, a third rationality—the logic of necessity—has become central to urbanization processes. From the articulation between market dynamics and necessity emerges the informal land market, now one of the primary mechanisms through which low-income populations access urban land. Its persistence is closely associated with regulatory frameworks that privilege higher-income sectors, reinforcing institutional barriers to formal housing provision and encouraging irregular land transactions and occupation practices. In spatial terms, these dynamics have fostered patterns of continuous peripheral expansion.

This article examines the land occupation and production processes structuring urban growth in the peri-urban areas of the Santiago district in Cusco, Peru. Within a context of urban–rural transition and limited regulatory enforcement, expansion is shaped by communal decisions regarding progressive land subdivision and informal parceling practices, producing territorially and socially fragmented urban formations.

The research adopts a qualitative case study design developed in three methodological phases: (1) a morphological and cartographic analysis of subdivision patterns on communal land; (2) a review of municipal planning instruments and regulatory frameworks, complemented by direct field observation; and (3) in-depth interviews with communal leaders, land purchasers, and local actors involved in land commercialization. This approach enables the identification of the agents, rationalities, and practices that structure peri-urban expansion and materially configure the urban fabric.

Findings indicate that expansion results not merely from spontaneous occupation but from organized market-oriented processes driven by local actors operating as intermediaries and de facto territorial configurators. In Santiago, urban production precedes formal planning, generating fragmented morphologies and infrastructural deficits. The periphery thus emerges as an actively produced territory shaped by communal and market logics.