Juan Antonio Gonzalez

A Colombian social entrepreneur who transformed urban slums through community-led housing cooperatives in the 1950s.

Juan Antonio González (1910–1972) was a visionary urban planner who pioneered participatory housing solutions in Colombia's marginalized neighborhoods. Witnessing the 1948 Bogotá riots, he realized that poverty and inadequate housing were interconnected crises. His 1952 book Barrios con Futuro (available at archive.org) proposed a model where residents co-designed and co-owned their housing projects through cooperatives.

González's 1955 La Candelaria Project became a blueprint: 300 families in Bogotá's slums built 120 homes using local materials and his modular design system. This approach reduced construction costs by 40% while creating jobs. His 1960s partnership with UN Habitat led to the Latin American Housing Congress, influencing policies in 15 countries.

Despite opposition from real estate interests, González's methods inspired the 1968 Colombian Housing Law. His memoir Building Communities, Not Walls (1970) remains a foundational text in community development. Modern initiatives like Medellín's 'Library Parks' directly reflect his philosophy of integrating housing with public services.