INSTRUMENTAL CASE STUDY: ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, CULTURAL, AND POLITICAL INTEGRATION OF THE PERI-URBAN SETTLEMENT OF SAN VICENTE (ARAUCA, COLOMBIA)

Abstract

The department of Arauca and its capital city of the same name exhibit forms of urban settlement that elude governmental analysis. In this context, the research analyzed the dynamics of economic, social, cultural, and political integration in San Vicente, a peripheral urban area within the municipality. An exploratory design was employed, consisting of surveys administered to a non-probabilistic sample and the collection of coordinates from sites of interest for geospatial analysis. The evidence gathered suggests selective integration: a high degree of functional self-containment in daily life and instrumental use of the city. These patterns are interpreted as the result of unplanned settlements embedded within urban frameworks that produce exclusion. Economic informality operates as a rational arrangement in the face of mobility costs, low skill levels, and uncertain returns; proximity to amenities does not imply substantive integration. Political disaffection stems from low returns on participation and unclear rules. From the perspective of territorial public administration, administrative recognition is proposed to facilitate investment in basic services, affordable mobility, strengthening of livelihoods, and co-governance. In summary: to move from the metric map to the political map, allowing San Vicente to cease being a “non-place” and become a scenario for guaranteeing rights.