Do invadir ao permanecer: experiências do habitar e precariedade numa invasão fabril no Complexo de Acari

Abstract

The objective of this research is to analyze forms of housing production and the construction of popular housing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The thesis argues that the conversion of factory ruins into “invasions” (a.k.a. “occupations”, “squats”) inside of or near to slums is a popular housing strategy with an aim of permanency. Fieldwork was carried out in an “invasion” of a factory located in the Complexo de Acari, in the North Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In this context of factory ruin housing, the research analyzes shifts in mobilizing perceptions of social actors and articulations and governances within the territory. Ethnographic methods utilized in the research focus on the construction of precariousness – from the effects of the production of peripheral territorialities, to the political management of these areas via state practices, drug traffic dynamics and the inhabitants. The goal is to advance the debate about how the population in their everyday life builds their "dwelling in the city" experience.