Fight, Squat, Resist

(english)

At the start of the millennium, the former CCPL milk plant was squatted by families who came from nearby favelas, or from housing complexes located in a good distance from that part of the North Side of the city. There was a rough intelligence in the installation of improvised facilities and in the distribution of the dwellings, collective areas, social equipment and commercial space. What emerged as an urban alternative demanded a structuring that never came to pass: the industrial building was demolished, giving rise to an uninspired “Minha Casa Minha Vida” complex.

A short time after, the Cities Statute was sanctioned - this is a federal law that regulates the social function of properties. However, these regulations have not materialized, such that the housing problem and fair access to the city are issues that are still far from being resolved. Since then, squats have proliferated around Brazil. The social movements for housing have strengthened their ideas and their organization with participatory processes which have at times involved architects and urban planners.

While the public discussion around housing has largely continued to focus on favelas and on the MCMV, squats have emerged as an alternative for collective housing that directly addresses urban problems in the country. The Fight, Squat, Resist: Housing Alternatives of the Social Movements exhibit deals with this controversial topic, aiming to provide an understanding of these processes and how they can inform the planning and construction of cities.

With the voices of the leaders of three important housing movements, the exhibit starts off showing objectives, strategies, victories and political and urban visions. It continues to the “Day of Celebration” and daily life in the Manuel Congo Squat, in the Cinelândia neighborhood. It then moves on to exemplary cases of participatory architectural design in the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte. Finally, it ends by revealing the paradoxes between the testimonies of the residents of the squats and the harsh reality they face.

As part of the Housing the Majority initiative by Studio-X’s global network, the content of the exhibition display comes from interviews and site visits. The use of primary sources was prioritized on purpose. The intent is to inform people around the actions and methods by popular housing movements, in order to offer spectators the freedom and responsibility to form their own opinions on this latent issue in Brazilian cities.