Urban expansion and land conflicts: territorial transformations and dynamics in the peri-urban area of Tunja, Colombia

Abstract

The peri-urban phenomenon represents one of the most dynamic expressions of territorial transformation for mediate cities in Latin America, as it is where tensions arise between what has been termed urban and rural, resulting from real estate pressure, land scarcity, and the reconfiguration of local economies. This document presents an analysis of peri-urban behavior in the mediate city of Tunja, Colombia, understood as a territory in transformation that reveals the contradictions of urban growth. The analysis adopts a mixed-methods approach that combines documentary analysis, field observation, interviews with local stakeholders, and spatial analysis to understand the socio-spatial dynamics of the peri-urban area within the city. The results demonstrate that the peri-urban area is the result of historical processes of informal urbanization in the latin american cities, outdated planning policies, and pressure from real estate developers, displaced populations, and farmers who are forced to transform their activities. It is thus concluded that the peri-urban area is not a residual space, but rather a place where spatial rationalities converge and where the urban-rural relationship is redefined with the aim of rethinking territorial planning.