International Retirement Migration: mapping the spatio-temporal growth of foreign-owned properties in Cotacachi, Ecuador

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.

KEYWORDS:

• International Retirement Migration
• real estate market
• spatial distribution
• agricultural land
• GIS
• Ecuador

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff of the Municipality of Cotacachi for their collaboration in providing the information, as well as the representatives of the indigenous communities for their active participation in the workshops.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).