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The authors are concerned with the forms of community participation among the poor, considering how demands are channelled to the state and the origin of community action programmes in Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela. They argue that the poor have derived few benefits from these government-inspired organizations

This survey reveals that no more than two-fifth of owner households in survey barrios participated in upgrading activities. Participation varied with tenure and the project: owners participated more than tenents and water and electricity programmes generated high levels of support

This article identifies the most likely public policy challenges and agenda items that policymakers will confront in Latin America 10 years from now. While many of today's challenges will continue to be salient within the public‐policy agenda—the "known knowns"—our goal is to drill down and highlight the most likely sub‐issues and specific policy imperatives and challenges in the medium term (the "known unknowns"). Fifty intensive key informant interviews were conducted with senior and experienced individuals from a range of professional settings, including scholars and academics, agency directors, top think‐tank analysts, heads of non‐governmental organizations, public intellectuals, and senior board members. The article reports on unstructured, one‐on‐one "listening sessions" in which respondents have offered their views on the specific but thus far largely latent public policy issues that they anticipate will need to be addressed looking beyond the status quo ante.

This paper builds on earlier data presented in an Urban Studies paper for a major household survey in 2002 that evaluated the impact of title regularization intervention among low-income homeowners in ten colonias in Starr County, Texas. In 2011 the research team returned to those low-income households, oversampling more than half of them in order to compare and analyse the extent and nature of housing improvement, levels of overcrowding and access to home amenities, and the methods of financing for home improvement and extension. Significant improvements and investments were observed totalling an average of almost US$9000 over ten years, mostly financed out of income and savings, although an increasing trend to seek loans from the formal market was observed. Correlation analysis explores how self-help and self-managed dwelling environments are adapted to family and household dynamics over the life course. Awareness of 'green' housing applications and sustainability is discussed.

Evidence from six Mexican states is analyzed about changes in
government organisation and performance arising from decentralisation and the
recasting of federalism structures. Spurred by rising pluralism, greater electoral
transparency, alternancia, and willingness of the Centre to 'let go',
a more genuine structure of shared powers is emerging between the executive (governors), the
legislature and the judiciary. The government bureaucracy is undergoing
modernisation, and governors are seeking to share power with legislatures as a
means of sharing the responsibilities of statecraft. Local congresses are exercising
greater 'checks' and 'balances' vis-à-vis the executive branch. Finally, the
judiciary is beginning to be reorganised, particularly at the national (Supreme
Court) level, where it is starting to develop jurisprudence relating to inter- and
intra-governmental relations.

Examines emerging role of state government arising from decentralization, sharing power among governors, legislatures, and the judiciary, checks and balances, and reorganization of the judiciary.