research
My PhD research on hidden poverty in Bogotá, Colombia.
For the research project, see unveilinghiddenpoverty.com.
Paper 1 — Unveiling Hidden Poverty: A Theoretical Framework
Hidden poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon operating across five interdependent dimensions:
| Dimension | Key elements |
|---|---|
| Economic | Precarious employment, downward mobility, financial precarity, material deprivation |
| Social | Weakened networks, isolation, stigma, shame, withdrawal from community life |
| Empowerment & Agency | Limited autonomy, representational barriers, intersectional exclusions |
| Psychosocial | Shame as emotional driver, identity crisis, psychological distress, loss of self-worth |
| Political-Symbolic | Invisibility in public policy, structural exclusion from social protection systems |
Four modifying factors shape intensity: location (urban vs rural), temporality (life events), cultural beliefs (attitudes toward self-sufficiency), and social strata (middle-class descent, young professionals with debt, migrant communities).
Paper 2 — Mapping Institutional Invisibility in Bogotá
Institutional invisibility is NOT a measurement error — it is a structural effect produced by specific design decisions in the Sisbén IV + ILSIS system.
Data: 1.7 million households · 44,000 city blocks · 112 UPZs in Bogotá
Key finding: 193,406 households invisible at UPZ scale
Focus territories: Teusaquillo · Los Cedros · Galerías · Quinta Paredes
Paper 3 — Performing Non-Poverty
“Performing Non-Poverty: Lived Experiences and Spatial Practices of Hidden Poverty in Bogotá”
Invisibility is not only structural — it is also performative. Households actively participate in their own invisibilization as a mechanism of symbolic survival.
Methods: collaborative mapping · in-depth interviews · urban walks · disposable camera photography (photovoice)
Rather than asking directly about economic situation, we explore tensions between appearance and experience.