Housing in “intramural favelas”

This paper develops a deeper look into new residential appropriations of space in marginalized areas of a large Brazilian city, while highlighting the subjective importance of housing and its meaning beyond the idea of shelter. Firstly, it presents a brief history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas – the l...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cláudia Seldin, Juliana Canedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: DINÂMIA’CET – IUL, Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies 2018-12-01
Series:Cidades, Comunidades e Território
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/cidades/801
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849734421497774080
author Cláudia Seldin
Juliana Canedo
author_facet Cláudia Seldin
Juliana Canedo
author_sort Cláudia Seldin
collection DOAJ
description This paper develops a deeper look into new residential appropriations of space in marginalized areas of a large Brazilian city, while highlighting the subjective importance of housing and its meaning beyond the idea of shelter. Firstly, it presents a brief history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas – the local version of slums – and its relationship with vacant land over the past 100 years. Then, it explains the value of self-built housing and its contribution to the consolidation of multiple and hybrid territories, highlighting their subjective character. Lastly, it presents a case study called Portelinha, located in a set of favelas known as the Maré Complex, stressing how this mixed occupation has transformed the local urban fabric, leading to the emergence of what is referred to as an “intramural favela”. This phenomenon consists of the self-construction of a smaller-scale set of houses within the walls of a former factory turned into an industrial void in the 1990s. The analysis shows how this housing appropriation is articulated with other activities, especially cultural ones, leading to a diversity of social actors, alliances and conflicts, turning it into a real disputed territory. Cases like this reflect the challenges with which architects and planners need to deal with when working in the unequal urban contexts that are so common in the Global South.
format Article
id doaj-art-9042c4175b3d4b8eba115c2afa4170ce
institution DOAJ
issn 2182-3030
language English
publishDate 2018-12-01
publisher DINÂMIA’CET – IUL, Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies
record_format Article
series Cidades, Comunidades e Território
spelling doaj-art-9042c4175b3d4b8eba115c2afa4170ce2025-08-20T03:07:47ZengDINÂMIA’CET – IUL, Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial StudiesCidades, Comunidades e Território2182-30302018-12-0137Housing in “intramural favelas”Cláudia SeldinJuliana CanedoThis paper develops a deeper look into new residential appropriations of space in marginalized areas of a large Brazilian city, while highlighting the subjective importance of housing and its meaning beyond the idea of shelter. Firstly, it presents a brief history of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas – the local version of slums – and its relationship with vacant land over the past 100 years. Then, it explains the value of self-built housing and its contribution to the consolidation of multiple and hybrid territories, highlighting their subjective character. Lastly, it presents a case study called Portelinha, located in a set of favelas known as the Maré Complex, stressing how this mixed occupation has transformed the local urban fabric, leading to the emergence of what is referred to as an “intramural favela”. This phenomenon consists of the self-construction of a smaller-scale set of houses within the walls of a former factory turned into an industrial void in the 1990s. The analysis shows how this housing appropriation is articulated with other activities, especially cultural ones, leading to a diversity of social actors, alliances and conflicts, turning it into a real disputed territory. Cases like this reflect the challenges with which architects and planners need to deal with when working in the unequal urban contexts that are so common in the Global South.https://journals.openedition.org/cidades/801housingfavelasdeindustrializationRio de Janeirooccupation
spellingShingle Cláudia Seldin
Juliana Canedo
Housing in “intramural favelas”
Cidades, Comunidades e Território
housing
favelas
deindustrialization
Rio de Janeiro
occupation
title Housing in “intramural favelas”
title_full Housing in “intramural favelas”
title_fullStr Housing in “intramural favelas”
title_full_unstemmed Housing in “intramural favelas”
title_short Housing in “intramural favelas”
title_sort housing in intramural favelas
topic housing
favelas
deindustrialization
Rio de Janeiro
occupation
url https://journals.openedition.org/cidades/801
work_keys_str_mv AT claudiaseldin housinginintramuralfavelas
AT julianacanedo housinginintramuralfavelas