Housing and survival strategies of women in metropolitan slum areas in Brazil

Abstract

In Latin America, low-income women work, not only in their homes and in factories or other places for income-generating activities, but also in their neighbourhoods to organise and take part in a network for survival strategies. This is the crucial point of view presented in this article. In the Introduction something is said about the magnitude of housing problems that our generation has to face and what contribution from the “self-help” approach may be expected under conditions of economic recession. The paper is divided into two parts. The first part provides a theoretical framework on the subject of housing and survival strategies of women in urban Latin America. The second part deals with a concrete example of how women from a slum settlement in São Bernardo do Campo, a city in the metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil, have tried to survive and improve their housing situation. The paper concludes with a few remarks in which theory and practice are compared. To provoke a discussion on the subject finally some statements and questions are added.