Quando a casa vira luta : resistência e política habitacional no caso do Parque da Lagoa em Maceió-AL

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the social, spatial, and political dynamics related to the housing policy that resulted in the implementation of Residencial Parque da Lagoa (2018–2024), located on the banks of Lagoa Mundaú, on the lagoon shore of Maceió. The focus is on the role of community leadership as a mobilizing force in the fight for decent housing. The process of occupation of this territory, which began in the 1970s, gave rise to the shellfish gathering communities: Mundaú, Sururu de Capote, Peixe, and Muvuca, which, over the decades, have been the target of several urban and housing interventions. It is understood that these interventions, historically marked by removal processes that neglected the way of life of the shellfish gathering population, are updated in the recent experience of implementing Residencial Parque da Lagoa. This process highlights the ongoing tensions between institutional dynamics and community resistance practices. The research adopts as its central hypothesis that the struggle of the lagoon's shore residents, articulated through community leadership, was decisive both in the implementation of the housing project and in the construction of a territory based on solidarity, local knowledge and the defense of the right to housing. The main objective is to reflect on the struggle for housing and the processes of social resistance led by the shellfish-gathering population of Maceió's lagoon shore, mediated by the actions of community leaders. The study also seeks to understand the historical process of urban formation of Maceió on the shores of Lagoa Mundaú, as well as the trajectory of urban and housing policies directed at this territory. The analysis includes the actors, processes and facts that shaped the design and implementation of the Parque da Lagoa Residential Complex. Methodologically, the research uses bibliographic and documentary research, photographic records and interviews. In addition, the Cartography of Action is adopted as a strategy to map the actors, processes and facts that occurred before, during and after the construction of the Residential Complex. Finally, this dissertation seeks to contribute with reflections that strengthen the defense of the ways of life of local urban communities and the realization of the right to housing and the city.