Learning from Barcelona’s grassroots housing struggles: Towards a transformational Degrowth agenda

Abstract

This article contributes to the nascent literature on housing for Degrowth. It recognises that housing plays a pivotal role in the creation and perpetuation of socio-ecological injustices, and therefore must be a core strategic element of a transition towards a Degrowth society. I argue for a deeper integration of bottom-up, scalable strategies and class politics in Degrowth housing proposals in order to create the widespread and emancipatory social transformation called for by the Degrowth agenda. The militant research for this paper was rooted in a case study of the Sindicat d’Habitatge de Vallcarca (Vallcarca Housing Union; SHV), which is part of Barcelona’s multifaceted grassroots movement for housing justice. The analysis first explores the synergies between Degrowth and the SHV using a Degrowth framework, and then looks beyond this framework, asking what both movements can learn from each other’s theoretical and strategic approaches. It highlights the SHV’s grassroots, class-based politics of solidarity and social inclusivity, and explores how the SHV could benefit from engaging with the ecological and intersectional politics of Degrowth. The article raises the importance of building connections between post-growth theories and radical housing struggles on a broader scale, in order to tackle top-down and growth-based ‘sustainable housing’ initiatives and create genuinely transformational and emancipatory housing alternatives.