Socio-cultural ways of dwelling: from family village to contemporary settlement

Near the J. A. Pengel International Airport is Witsanti, an indigenous village with its own culture and customs. The authentic culture of the collective village is threatened by modern influences and the impact of the airport. In this research, we explore the origins of Witsanti and how they manage to combine modern influences with their own culture.

By means of a historical analysis, research has been carried out on Witsantis origins, trying to find out what spatial and social elements have determined the contemporary village image. Social coherence and its articulation in space is the main focus: how does a family cluster shapes a village? How did the construction of space take place, what are challenges and what are opportunities of this explicit and very coherent way of living and building?

The research is constructed through field research, literature study holding reference works and interviews.