ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a history of indigenous urbanisation and discusses the ethno-spatial make-up of both cities, highlighting how patterns of ethno-racial and socio-economic segregation established during the colonial period persist to a certain degree until the present context. It also provides an overview of the various national and local government authorities involved in urban policy and planning practice in these cities. The proportion of indigenous people living within the city has varied throughout the centuries but La Paz still retains a strong urban indigenous presence. With the arrival of the colonisers, indigenous peoples were employed to build the new colonial city. Indigenous peoples mainly came to La Paz in search of a decent living. Indigenous migrants who arrived from the same rural areas normally settled in the same street or neighbourhood, thereby reproducing their communities within the city.
