Struggles of social movements related to housing are traditionally analysed - albeit from different perspectives - from their directed demands to the state. This perspective is important, as the provision of social housing is recognized as a duty for public authorities in most of democratically governed countries. This article, however, seeks to explore which experiences, in addition to the precarious access to housing (also considered), led individuals to engage in social movements for housing as a way to struggle for recognition of their subjectivities, such as memory and voice. Therefore, this analysis is inspired by the sociology of experience as proposed by François Dubet (1994), who defines three distinct logics capable of embracing the heterogeneity of subjective actions: integration, strategy and subjectivation.
This article is based on a research carried out with four different social movements in London and Rio de Janeiro, cities that are quite distinct from each other, but are approached from the experiences of subjects struggling to broaden their understanding of social housing. Public policy for housing in both cities is increasingly anchored in the concept of affordability, which translates the social housing financialization phenomena that is common to many countries. The members of the movements, however, seek not only the democratization of access to housing by increasing the number of houses and beneficiaries, but also a sense of dignity, which includes sentiments of belonging, equality and the right to memory, in a way of fighting against the “territorial stigmas” (Wacquant, 2005) associated with those facing housing precariousness.
Struggles of social movements related to housing are traditionally analysed - albeit from different perspectives - from their directed demands to the state. This perspective is important, as the provision of social housing is recognized as a duty for public authorities in most of democratically governed countries. This article, however, seeks to explore which experiences, in addition to the precarious access to housing (also considered), led individuals to engage in social movements for housing as a way to struggle for recognition of their subjectivities, such as memory and voice. Therefore, this analysis is inspired by the sociology of experience as proposed by François Dubet (1994), who defines three distinct logics capable of embracing the heterogeneity of subjective actions: integration, strategy and subjectivation.
This article is based on a research carried out with four different social movements in London and Rio de Janeiro, cities that are quite distinct from each other, but are approached from the experiences of subjects struggling to broaden their understanding of social housing. Public policy for housing in both cities is increasingly anchored in the concept of affordability, which translates the social housing financialization phenomena that is common to many countries. The members of the movements, however, seek not only the democratization of access to housing by increasing the number of houses and beneficiaries, but also a sense of dignity, which includes sentiments of belonging, equality and the right to memory, in a way of fighting against the “territorial stigmas” (Wacquant, 2005) associated with those facing housing precariousness.
Struggles of social movements related to housing are traditionally analysed - albeit from different perspectives - from their directed demands to the state. This perspective is important, as the provision of social housing is recognized as a duty for public authorities in most of democratically governed countries. This article, however, seeks to explore which experiences, in addition to the precarious access to housing (also considered), led individuals to engage in social movements for housing as a way to struggle for recognition of their subjectivities, such as memory and voice. Therefore, this analysis is inspired by the sociology of experience as proposed by François Dubet (1994), who defines three distinct logics capable of embracing the heterogeneity of subjective actions: integration, strategy and subjectivation.
This article is based on a research carried out with four different social movements in London and Rio de Janeiro, cities that are quite distinct from each other, but are approached from the experiences of subjects struggling to broaden their understanding of social housing. Public policy for housing in both cities is increasingly anchored in the concept of affordability, which translates the social housing financialization phenomena that is common to many countries. The members of the movements, however, seek not only the democratization of access to housing by increasing the number of houses and beneficiaries, but also a sense of dignity, which includes sentiments of belonging, equality and the right to memory, in a way of fighting against the “territorial stigmas” (Wacquant, 2005) associated with those facing housing precariousness.
Keywords
Housing
Social Movements
Sociology of experience
Subjectivity
