Countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region were the first in the developing world to go through rapid urbanization. Today, the region is the second most urbanized region in the world. This urbanization process has been accompanied by sharp social contrasts and economic disparities, a buoyant informal housing and land development process and increased local democracy and municipal autonomy, coupled with active social urban movements. This makes the Latin America and Caribbean region a unique landscape in the study of land and housing for the poor.