Key research themes
1. How do favelas in Brazil reflect, resist, and reshape social inequality and urban governance?
This research area focuses on understanding favelas not only as spaces marked by poverty and marginalization but as dynamic socio-political territories that manifest and challenge entrenched inequalities in Brazilian urban contexts. It investigates how favelas embody spatialized social exclusion, encounters with urban policies, community organizing, and alternative forms of citizenship and state engagement. Exploring these dimensions reveals favelas as important sites for rethinking governance, social justice, and the meanings of the city.
2. What is the evolving nature and impact of media representation on the perception and reality of favelas?
This theme interrogates how both international and local media narratives shape public understandings and policy attitudes towards favelas. It examines shifts between stigmatization emphasizing crime and poverty versus narratives recognizing favelas’ cultural vitality and political agency. Understanding media portrayal is critical as it influences socio-political inclusion, resource allocation, and urban redevelopment strategies affecting favela communities.
3. How do socio-economic contexts and housing policies affect dwelling and urban life in informal settlements and favela-like territories?
This research theme probes the interrelation between housing policies, urban planning, informal economies, and the lived experiences of favela residents and similarly marginalized populations. It focuses on structural conditions influencing housing precarity, displacement, and the negotiation of informality, with implications for social welfare, urban inclusion, and rights to the city.