Brussels Studies Institute (BSI)

Abandonment and homelessness: the role of counterspaces

Since the 1990s central neighbourhoods in the city of São Paulo have lived a burst of squats in abandoned buildings. Living in a squat has become an alternative in the context of a burgeoning housing crisis and lack of access to social housing or formal market alternatives for several groups and individuals. Some of these “ocupações” have succeeded in opening up to broader dynamics and creating alliances with various social and political actors. They developed tactics to stay put and to resist displacement, while creating alternative imaginaries and practices of space-making.

During this first lecture, Raquel Rolnik will first discuss the experience of housing squats in São Paulo, reflecting critically with the students on the complexities of the struggles and realities involved in the role of such counterspaces in the city, to then focus on potential avenues for rethinking housing policies in São Paulo and elsewhere.

At 6 pm in room K.2.56 at the VUB!