Transport, urban development and the peripheral poor in Colombia — Placing splintering urbanism in the context of transport networks

Abstract In rapidly growing cities the evolution of utility and communication infrastructures has enabled the creation of ‘premium networked spaces’ exclusively for wealthier groups thus deepening already large social inequalities. By the same token, in a context of spatially concentrated income-earning opportunities and other urban functions, as well as limited purchasing power, accessibility to adequate means of connectivity with the rest of the urban fabric can be a determining factor in overcoming conditions of poverty for residents in physically marginal areas. Within the framework of the splintering urbanism thesis, and using the case study of Soacha, a municipality adjacent to Bogota, Colombia's capital city, we examine the apparent mismatch between the growth of low-income informal settlements in peripheral locations and the development of transport networks in the period 2000–2010. Our aim is to identify the effects on social and spatial marginalisation of an uneven provision of material infrastructures and services for mobility. We identify central elements in the structure of the networks of connectivity between Bogota and Soacha, highlighting the main gaps that lead to a fragmented set of connections. We develop a set of criteria for planners and policy makers searching for a more informed analysis of transport supply and policy development practice for poor peripheral populations in similar regions and contexts.