Practices of narration: A plural (re)imagination of Maré

Abstract

This research departs from the work of Redes da Maré (Redes), a grassroots organisation based in Maré, a set of 16 favelas in Rio de Janeiro. Through collaborative research with Redes, I adopt an interpretive lens on narratives to comprehend their methodologies and spatial practices to expand the access of rights in the favelas. Drawing from feminist scholarship, I employ situated knowledges to understand Redes' counter-narratives that foster a plural (re)imagination for Maré. To disentangle Maré’s spatial disputes and locate Redes’ political action, I contemplate the multiplicity of knowledges surrounding this context using the notion of ecologies. In ecologies, as Feminist thinkers have observed, knowledges are non-hierarchical since each form of knowledge represents a partial perspective of reality. Observing knowledges through ecologies involves tracing the relational struggles intersecting race, gender, labour, sexuality, age, and context. I have recognised three ecologies in Redes’ everyday activities: (A) ‘Representations’, consisting of a dispute of narratives and counter-narratives for Maré's social imagination in the city; (B) ‘Rights & Space’, informing how rights are learned and exercised in the favelas; and (C) ‘Practices of Narration’ (PoN) concerning Redes’ spatial practices to convey counter-narratives seeking full citizenship for favela residents. This research investigates how PoN challenge representations that hinder residents' access to material and symbolic rights. Since 2007, Redes has been working to guarantee rights are distributed fairly, building awareness through mobilisation and policy advocacy. Using ethnography and participatory research methods, I unpack five PoN: (1) ‘Gathering- Evidence’, as Redes' data collection on the ground to build evidence-based counternarratives; (2) ‘Identifying-Narratives’ from residents' lived experience and knowledges; (3) ‘Mobilising-Engagement’, focusing on mobilising and sensitising residents of their rights; (4) ‘Documenting-Knowledges’ in making counter-narratives amplified to larger audiences in multiple communication channels; and (5) Enacting-Articulação, weaving agencies and entities in Maré’s urban fabric to approximate residents to accessing their rights. By unravelling PoN, this research sheds light on epistemologies of city-making that are often hidden under hegemonic narratives and, consequently, from the designing and planning activities. Hence, this work borrows theories from urban studies and insurgent citizenship planning, favelas studies, decoloniality, and feminist thinking. Finally, the research highlights the spatial knowledge production in favelas, acknowledging their insurgent forms of representation and expanding the lexicon of methods to read cities in times of uncertainty