Methodologies for Housing Justice Resource Guide

This Resource Guide is the outcome of a Summer Institute on Methodologies for Housing Justice convened by the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin as part of the Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS 1758774). Held in Los Angeles in August 2019, the Summer Institute brought together participants from cities around the world. As is the case with the overall scope and purpose of the Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network, it created a shared terrain of scholarship for movement-based and university-based scholars. Dissatisfied with the canonical methods that are in use in housing studies and guided by housing justice movements that are active research communities, the Summer Institute was premised on the assertion that methodology is political. Methodology is rooted in arguments about the world and involves relations of power and knowledge. The method itself – be it countermapping or people’s diaries – does not ensure an ethics of solidarity and a purpose of justice. Such goals require methodologies for liberation. Thus, as is evident in this Resource Guide, our endeavor foregrounds innovative methods that are being used by researchers across academia and activism and explicitly situates such methods in an orientation towards housing justice

{O planejamento urbano integrado e a atuação do SERFHAU no Rio Grande do Sul (1964-1975)}

Esta dissertação trata do processo de planejamento urbano no Brasil e da institucionalização do planejamento urbano integrado no país e, principalmente, no Rio Grande do Sul. O objeto da pesquisa é a atuação do Serviço Federal de Habitação e Urbanismo, o SERFHAU, no estado. O órgão foi criado com o objetivo de conferir assistência técnica em questões ligadas ao planejamento urbano a estados e municípios brasileiros. O SERFHAU, durante seu período de existência, de 1964 a 1975, incentivou a abordagem de aspectos econômicos, físicos, sociais e institucionais do planejamento urbano e a integração dos planos nos níveis municipal, regional e federal. Apesar de a autarquia ter colaborado com a implementação da metodologia interdisciplinar na elaboração dos planos, sua atuação foi diferente nas diversas regiões do Brasil. No Rio Grande do Sul, ainda se desconhece quais ações e programas o SERFHAU apoiou e participou ou, mesmo, se foi protagonista na institucionalização do planejamento urbano integrado. Desta forma, a pergunta que norteou a realização da pesquisa foi: “Qual foi o papel que o SERFHAU desempenhou no Rio Grande do Sul?”. Para responder à questão, formulou-se a hipótese de que, no estado, já havia uma estrutura de planejamento urbano consolidada antes da criação do órgão e, por isso, o SERFHAU teria tido uma função solidificadora do planejamento urbano integrado. Para confirmar ou refutar a afirmação, resgatou-se a experiência da autarquia federal na região através de relatórios anuais divulgados pela Secretaria de Obras Públicas do Rio Grande do Sul, além de boletins publicados pelo próprio SERFHAU, bem como anais e programas de cursos e seminários promovidos por ele. A análise deste material auxiliou a esclarecer a efetiva atuação do SERFHAU junto às municipalidades gaúchas e à Secretaria de Obras Públicas e, portanto, sua participação no processo de planejamento urbano do Rio Grande do Sul.This dissertation deals with the process of urban planning in Brazil and the institutionalization of comprehensive planning in the country and, particularly, in Rio Grande do Sul. The object of the research is the role of the Federal Habitation and Urbanism Service, SERFHAU, in the state. The organ was created with the purpose of providing Brazilian states and municipalities with technical assistance about issues regarding urban planning. During its period of existence, from 1964 to 1975, SERFHAU endorsed the outlook of economical, geographical, social and institutional aspects of urban planning and the integration of plans in the municipal, regional and national level. Although this autarky collaborated with the implementation of an interdisciplinary methodology in the elaboration of plans, its focus was different in each region of Brazil. In Rio Grande do Sul, it is still unknown which measures and programs SERFHAU supported and, moreover, if it was a protagonist in the institutionalization of comprehensive planning. In this sense, the question that guided the execution of the research was “What was SERFHAU's role in Rio Grande do Sul?”. To answer that question, a hypothesis was conceived that there already was an operative urban planning structure in the state before the organ's creation and, for that reason, SERFHAU would have had a strengthening role in comprehensive planning. To confirm or refute this statement, the experience of federal autarkies in Rio Grande do Sul was analyzed through annual briefings publicized by the Secretariat of Public Construction of Rio Grande do Sul, besides reports issued by SERFHAU itself, as well as annals, courses and seminars programs promoted by the autarky. The analysis of this material helped clarifying the effective role SERFHAU played in the state's municipalities and in the Secretariat of Public Construction and, therefore, its part in the process of urban planning in Rio Grande do Sul

Legalized Displacement: Analyzing Eviction Apparatuses in Brazil

Brazil is internationally known for having a very progressive legislation and inclusive policieswhen it comes to land and property rights. Despite all the legal mechanisms created by recent legislation to reverse exclusionary patterns of land use, nonetheless, the Brazilian judiciary is ordering the eviction of thousands of marginalized families. In this dissertation I argue that these removals and violations of citizens’ constitutional right to housing must be understood as part of what I call legalized displacement; namely, land dispossession practices that are not only a direct result of real estate speculation, including the financialization of the housing sector, but of a much broader discriminating process, in which the courts are playing a major role. Drawing from Porto Alegre, a city with a participatory planning tradition, this dissertation explores post-millennial eviction apparatuses in Brazil, including the logics, actors, and laws behind displacement both within the formal and informal housing markets. My goal here is to investigate how these removal practices are being validated – especially through urban-legal paradigms and judicial discourses – and contested – particularly in the light of the attempt of democratizing the judicial process with the creation of conciliation courts on collective land conflicts. The questions that guided this dissertation are: 1) how are evictions pursued by the Brazilian judiciary today and how are they contested; 2) how are legal frameworks of land use and property rights being used to justify displacement; and 3) what is the role of conciliation courts, formal spaces of land disputes in Porto Alegre, in challenging collective dispossession. To answer my questions, I employ archival research, spatial and discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. I find that the courts barely cite paradigmatic urban and land legislations in their rulings, relying instead on specific articles from civil procedure codes, bureaucratically regulating possessory actions. I also conclude that judges are mobilizing political ideologies that condemn alternative tenure models. Finally, my last chapter shows that the new model of justice through conciliation courts does not result in a real redistribution of power and resources, as marginalized groups are still ignored and eventually dehumanized in these mediation hearings

{O planejamento urbano integrado e a atuação do SERFHAU no Rio Grande do Sul (1964-1975)}

Esta dissertação trata do processo de planejamento urbano no Brasil e da institucionalização do planejamento urbano integrado no país e, principalmente, no Rio Grande do Sul. O objeto da pesquisa é a atuação do Serviço Federal de Habitação e Urbanismo, o SERFHAU, no estado. O órgão foi criado com o objetivo de conferir assistência técnica em questões ligadas ao planejamento urbano a estados e municípios brasileiros. O SERFHAU, durante seu período de existência, de 1964 a 1975, incentivou a abordagem de aspectos econômicos, físicos, sociais e institucionais do planejamento urbano e a integração dos planos nos níveis municipal, regional e federal. Apesar de a autarquia ter colaborado com a implementação da metodologia interdisciplinar na elaboração dos planos, sua atuação foi diferente nas diversas regiões do Brasil. No Rio Grande do Sul, ainda se desconhece quais ações e programas o SERFHAU apoiou e participou ou, mesmo, se foi protagonista na institucionalização do planejamento urbano integrado. Desta forma, a pergunta que norteou a realização da pesquisa foi: “Qual foi o papel que o SERFHAU desempenhou no Rio Grande do Sul?”. Para responder à questão, formulou-se a hipótese de que, no estado, já havia uma estrutura de planejamento urbano consolidada antes da criação do órgão e, por isso, o SERFHAU teria tido uma função solidificadora do planejamento urbano integrado. Para confirmar ou refutar a afirmação, resgatou-se a experiência da autarquia federal na região através de relatórios anuais divulgados pela Secretaria de Obras Públicas do Rio Grande do Sul, além de boletins publicados pelo próprio SERFHAU, bem como anais e programas de cursos e seminários promovidos por ele. A análise deste material auxiliou a esclarecer a efetiva atuação do SERFHAU junto às municipalidades gaúchas e à Secretaria de Obras Públicas e, portanto, sua participação no processo de planejamento urbano do Rio Grande do Sul.This dissertation deals with the process of urban planning in Brazil and the institutionalization of comprehensive planning in the country and, particularly, in Rio Grande do Sul. The object of the research is the role of the Federal Habitation and Urbanism Service, SERFHAU, in the state. The organ was created with the purpose of providing Brazilian states and municipalities with technical assistance about issues regarding urban planning. During its period of existence, from 1964 to 1975, SERFHAU endorsed the outlook of economical, geographical, social and institutional aspects of urban planning and the integration of plans in the municipal, regional and national level. Although this autarky collaborated with the implementation of an interdisciplinary methodology in the elaboration of plans, its focus was different in each region of Brazil. In Rio Grande do Sul, it is still unknown which measures and programs SERFHAU supported and, moreover, if it was a protagonist in the institutionalization of comprehensive planning. In this sense, the question that guided the execution of the research was “What was SERFHAU's role in Rio Grande do Sul?”. To answer that question, a hypothesis was conceived that there already was an operative urban planning structure in the state before the organ's creation and, for that reason, SERFHAU would have had a strengthening role in comprehensive planning. To confirm or refute this statement, the experience of federal autarkies in Rio Grande do Sul was analyzed through annual briefings publicized by the Secretariat of Public Construction of Rio Grande do Sul, besides reports issued by SERFHAU itself, as well as annals, courses and seminars programs promoted by the autarky. The analysis of this material helped clarifying the effective role SERFHAU played in the state's municipalities and in the Secretariat of Public Construction and, therefore, its part in the process of urban planning in Rio Grande do Sul

Metodologías para la justicia de la vivienda: Guia de recursos

Esta Guía de Recursos es el resultado de un Instituto de Verano sobre Metodologías para la Justicia en la Vivienda convocado por el Instituto sobre Desigualdad y Democracia de UCLA Luskin como parte de la Red de Justicia en la Vivienda en Ciudades Desiguales, que es apoyada por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias (BCS 1758774). Celebrado en Los Ángeles en agosto de 2019, el Instituto de Verano reunió a participantes de ciudades de todo el mundo. Al igual que el alcance y el propósito general de la Red de Justicia en las Ciudades Desiguales, creó un terreno compartido de para estudiosos del movimiento y académicos de universidades. Con una insatisfacción a los métodos canónicos que se utilizan en los estudios sobre la vivienda y guiado por los movimientos de justicia de la vivienda que son comunidades de investigación activa, el Instituto de verano se basó en la afirmación de que la metodología es política. La metodología se basa en argumentos sobre el mundo e implica relaciones de poder y conocimiento. El método por sí mismo -ya sea el contra ataque al mapeo o los diarios de la genteno asegura una ética de solidaridad y un propósito de justicia. Tales objetivos requieren metodologías para la liberación. Por lo tanto, como es evidente en esta Guía de Recursos, nuestro esfuerzo pone en primer plano los métodos innovadores que están siendo utilizados por los investigadores en todo el mundo académico y el activismo y sitúa explícitamente tales métodos en una orientación hacia la vivienda la justicia

Methodologies for Housing Justice Resource Guide

This Resource Guide is the outcome of a Summer Institute on Methodologies for Housing Justice convened by the Institute on Inequality and Democracy at UCLA Luskin as part of the Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (BCS 1758774). Held in Los Angeles in August 2019, the Summer Institute brought together participants from cities around the world. As is the case with the overall scope and purpose of the Housing Justice in Unequal Cities Network, it created a shared terrain of scholarship for movement-based and university-based scholars. Dissatisfied with the canonical methods that are in use in housing studies and guided by housing justice movements that are active research communities, the Summer Institute was premised on the assertion that methodology is political. Methodology is rooted in arguments about the world and involves relations of power and knowledge. The method itself – be it countermapping or people’s diaries – does not ensure an ethics of solidarity and a purpose of justice. Such goals require methodologies for liberation. Thus, as is evident in this Resource Guide, our endeavor foregrounds innovative methods that are being used by researchers across academia and activism and explicitly situates such methods in an orientation towards housing justice