YOUNG, INFORMAL, AND SUSTAINABLE: YOUNG LAND OCCUPATIONS IN SÃO PAULO

The production of urban land through occupations of environmentally protected areas at the peripheries of mega cities is a wicked problem in the Global South. As impoverished families cannot either afford rent in well-equipped locations or access housing programs they occupy available land on the city periphery that is not readily suitable for habitation. Young land occupations in particular lack the resources required to cope with the threat of displacement. In the early stages of occupation, legal cases often use the narrative of environmental degradation and unsustainable practices—due to the impacts of deforestation and the lack of proper infrastructure—to force eviction, deny services, or criminalize occupiers. Despite these challenges, young occupations continue to grow rapidly on cities’ peripheries. By the time that municipalities assess that it is legally sound to upgrade them, it is often too late to guide their settlement patterns toward healthy and ecologically sensitive development. This project focuses on the case of a young land occupation on the periphery of São Paulo city to examine the mechanisms, trajectories, and decision-making processes that frame lower-income residents’ struggle for the right to the city. Following a participatory action-research approach, the project sheds light on the community organizing, the spatial strategies, and the actions that land occupiers take to secure tenure, improve infrastructure, and steward the environment. A central focus of this effort is to support the internal organizational capacities of the community and its connections with other social and housing rights groups in the city.

Volume Editors

ISBN
978-1-944214-31-9