International Retirement Migration: mapping the spatio-temporal growth of foreign-owned properties in Cotacachi, Ecuador. Issue 1 (1st January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Crespo, Marcelo; Follmann, Alexander; Butsch, Carsten; Dannenberg, Peter
• Is Part Of: Journal of maps. Volume 18:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 53
• Page End: 60
• Publication Date: 2022-01-01
• Subjects: International Retirement Migration -- real estate market -- spatial distribution -- agricultural land -- GIS -- Ecuador; Maps -- Periodicals; Cartography -- Periodicals; 912.05
• DOI: 10.1080/17445647.2022.2039310
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-5647

Abstract

ABSTRACT: International Retirement Migration (IRM) is a growing phenomenon in the Global South. Using the example of the city of Cotacachi in the Ecuadorian Andes, this paper analyzes the spatio-temporal growth of the properties acquired by foreign retirees. We have developed a multi-temporal map that visualizes the spatio-temporal patterns of foreign-owned real estate properties and explains them in the historical context of land tenure. As no official spatial data is available for foreign-owned properties in Cotacachi, the mapping was developed based on data triangulation from remote sensing, participatory mapping, document analysis (e.g. a cadastral database), and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. With this origin approach, the map reveals a significant growth in the number of properties and the size of the land acquired by foreigners particularly since the 2008 United States' housing crisis. Most of the foreign-owned properties are located at the urban fringe and have been built on former colonial hacienda lands in direct proximity to existing indigenous communities.