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Fictional, yet real: Worlding informality in cities of the Global South

Jeroen Klink

Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space2026https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518x261432602article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

In this note, I discuss the temporal dimension of informal settlement planning and development through a theoretical lens of expectations and decision-making. Prevailing approaches tend to generate a conceptual impasse. While orthodox economics is organized around rational expectations, present-value accounting, and the alignment between planning and realized outcomes, political economy emphasizes fictitious capital as a speculative claim on an inherently unknowable future. I develop the concept of fictional expectations—that is, expectations that have the potential to create a world of their own—as a way out of this impasse and contribute to revisable mid-level theories on the relational production of contemporary informal settlements and their entanglements with urban space. Using the trajectory of favela upgrading in Brazil, I illustrate the potential of this concept for “worlding” informal settlements in the urban Global South.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518x261432602

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@article{jeroen2026,
  title        = {{Fictional, yet real: Worlding informality in cities of the Global South}},
  author       = {Jeroen Klink},
  journal      = {Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518x261432602},
}

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Fictional, yet real: Worlding informality in cities of the Global South

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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