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Project

Grassroots Urbanism: A Critical Atlas of Crisis, Movements and Radical Housing

An unprecedented homeless crisis, exacerbated by Covid-19, is afflicting cities worldwide. In response, numerous grassroots movements are testing new housing solutions. Urban studies, the interdisciplinary field concerned with the study of cities, has growing attention for such grassroots practices, but currently tends to prioritize either a social or spatial approach, failing to understand if and how grassroots struggles structurally contribute to the making of more just cities. Because of the methodological and epistemological schism between social and applied sciences, and anthropology and architecture in particular, the distinct ‘city-making’ of grassroots movements remains invisible, hindering more emancipatory and critical forms of urban theory and action. The main aim of this research is to advance critical cartography as an interdisciplinary tool to better understand grassroots crisis responses. The overarching research question is: what novel forms of reinhabiting, reimagining and remaking the city emerge from grassroots struggles for housing? Through a case-study of Brussels and international collaboration, this study will analyze the interplay of homeless crises, grassroots movements, and radical housing. By integrating typo-morphological analysis and collaborative ethnography, the critical atlas will be the first in-depth urban scale examination of grassroots movements and initiate an international and interdisciplinary Grassroots Urbanism Research Lab.

Date:1 Nov 2021 →  31 Aug 2023
Keywords:Urban Grassroots Movements, Critical Cartography, Anthropology, Architecture & Urbanism
Disciplines:Architectural sciences and technology, Housing markets, development, management, Urbanism and regional planning, Social and cultural anthropology, Urban and regional geography