Case Information

São Paulo’s Housing Movement Organizations: Activists Squat, Lobby, and Protest for Affordable Housing
Beckman, Sara L., Nuno Gil, Felipe Massa, and Cristina Sousa
Publication date: 10/1/2023, pages 1-9

Housing Movement Organizations (HMOs) in São Paulo, Brazil, work to solve homelessness where housing far outpaces wages. HMOs occupy abandoned buildings, often shoveling out truckloads of garbage, to create apartments for families who work paycheck-to-paycheck. Communities may lack basic services such as water and electricity, yet residents pay a small monthly fee and adhere to strict rules such as banning drug abuse. Charismatic leader and homeless advocate Carmen Silva creates self-actualized living arrangements for Brazil’s low-income families. Students are asked: Are HMOs a scalable and reproducible solution to tackle the grand and global societal challenge of homelessness?

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