"An introductory section presents the principal characteristics (demographic, economic, political, and institutional) and problems (urban sprawl, economic inequality, poor and inexistent infrastructure) of Lima. The next two sections are case studies of Villa El Salvador, perhaps the best known (because of its conflictive and political origins, as well as its community organizations) of the squatter settlements that surround Lima, and the work undertaken by women in the poorer sectors of the city to improve health and food services"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.