Advisor: Rachel Coutinho Marques da Silva
Dissertation: The slab: a platform for participation in the favela of Rocinha
Defense date: 18/05/2023
Abstract
This research project proposes to analyze forms of participation and appropriation of the slab, inserted in the spatial context of the favela, and having as a case study the Rocinha neighborhood in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The dissertation investigates concepts that subvert traditional notions of spatial conceptualization, and how the residents’ self-management occurs regarding aspects related to the use of the slab. In the densely occupied urban fabric of the slums, this space in the dwellings can function as an interface of intersection
between the limits of collective and private space. Therefore, the actions and interventions of slum dwellers are investigated through a focus on the observation of sociocultural approaches in this environment.
A particular type of urban appropriation is recognized in the slab, identifying it as an alternative of residents to the scarcity of free public spaces in slums. We can observe that it is used as a place for practices linked to self-construction and renting processes, showing aspects related to the use and exchange value of the slab. In the case of Rocinha, both in its daily life and during the pandemic of COVID-19, we observed collective manifestations on the slab associated with multiple social activities. The field research process also revealed the slab glimpsed from the perspective of the inhabitant, as a space of “dream projection”. It became apparent in these processes above all a character described in the research as “hybrid nature”. The research techniques defined were: literature review; qualitative online ethnographic research; and field research through participation in collective meetings.