At academic level, there is a constant interest in evaluating the epistemological constructs of the human habitat. One concept that contributes to this construction is the term This article is divided into three parts. The first provides a theoretical and conceptual framework for the concept of dwelling. In the second part, these contributions are contrasted with dwelling in tenement houses in the Niquitao sector of the city of Medellin, Colombia. The third part evaluates some of the proposals made by the municipality to solve the underlying problems that make tenement houses a growing phenomenon. In this process, an effort was made to understand, from a different perspective, the nature of inhabiting and particularly the micro-territories of tenements: from corners to different environments that reveal a clear change in forms of inhabiting. Given the importance of this research, a continued and interdisciplinary debate about the concept of inhabiting is proposed.