Direct action as a mechanism to confront gentrification: possibilities and limits

Abstract

We consider the contributions of the new urban activism to the antigentrification struggle in São Paulo, through a double approach. First, we analyze experiences in areas vulnerable to gentrification, which demonstrate the potential and difficulties of resisting through alternative artistic practices. Next, we include the latent potential of peripheral collectives, which offer methodological examples of inclusive social technologies that can be adapted to other parts of the city. The premise is that self-managed actions create spaces for autonomous discussion, expanding the agenda of struggle for the right to the city by concrete and symbolic resistance. We defend that the politicization of the territory puts in question marketing strategies of harmonic incorporation of communities, imposing a movement of adjustment in the ultraliberal legitimation strategies.