Vecindad

Vecindad (Spanish, 'neighbourhood') is a Mexican term for a building containing several (often low-income oriented) housing units. Originally a form of housing created through the subdivision of vacated elite housing in historic centres in Mexican cities, where rooms around a central patio were let to families who shared facilities (such as lavatories and/or kitchens) with the other tenants. Also, purpose-built vecindades were constructed in the early 20th century to meet the demand for central low-income housing and only resembling the original vecindades by having small units and shared facilities. The term is now used ambiguously.

The word vecindad can also refer to a person's legal residence, in terms of a city, province, or state, not just a neighborhood. In Guatemala, there's a national ID referred to as carnet de vecindad; not mattering the actual "neighborhood" but giving the person a legal document saying they are from that country.