Land Rights through Infrastructure: The Role of Water and Mobility Delivery in Practices of Land Formalisation in Arequipa, Peru

This paper explores the role of infrastructure delivery and availability for the process of land formalisation in Arequipa. Using the concept of hybridity, understood as the unique configurations of formal and informal practices in urban development we analyse the various forms of infrastructure production in three neighbourhoods of the secondary city in southern Peru. Conceptually, we argue for deconstructing the dualism of "formal" and "informal" in this context, proposing instead a perspective that sees both as powerful social constructs influencing urban planning practices, rather than as accurate reflections of the far more diverse lived realities in various global and local contexts. Practically, this paper explores how state regulations towards land formalisation influence practices and attitudes of citizens in new neighbourhoods towards the (auto-)construction of infrastructure. In doing so, the proposed paper is contributing to answering the following questions:

• How are state regulations connecting infrastructure provision to land formalisation?
• Which practices of hybrid infrastructure delivery can be found in the three neighbourhoods?
• How are the identified state regulations influencing the hybrid infrastructural realities?

Using a qualitative design, fieldwork included extended stays in the neighbourhoods, complemented by interviews with residents and non-resident experts. Focussing on the studied infrastructures—water and mobility—we identified complex interconnections and dependencies between the requirements of land formalisation and the lived realities of infrastructure delivery in the different neighbourhoods. Building on examples from fieldwork, we present existing delivery solutions produced by individual and complex hybrid arrangements. Our approach allows to unveil conflicts between different actors, in particular between private actors and the state, but also between private actors with different interests in the context of land formalisation, especially housing versus profit. In reconstructing the often conflicting rationalities of the different actors, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the links between infrastructure, urban development policies and social inequalities.