Public and collective space in ‘9x18 settlements’

In the debate about public space in the urban regeneration of 9x18 neighbourhoods, it is relevant to follow the urban space definition that transits from one form of society to another. This definition is used by Swekes to describe neighbourhoods that were originally informal settlements, and then suffered transformations that were not sensitive to their previous public life. In 9x18 neighbourhoods, which were born from informal settlements as well,  it is possible to recognise the coexistence of public spaces with patterns derived from their original collective life as well as other spaces that emerged from the subsequent governmental interventions. This chapter describes the characteristics of some concrete public and collective spaces, those which simultaneously give shelter to the collective life among people from the land invasions, and the public life of the neighbourhood that was built from new modernising interventions  Keywords: Plot of land operation; peripheral urbanisations; public space, collective space; urban regeneration