Citizen participation as a driver of housing policies: The case of the occupation of the Cambridge Hotel

Faced with State inefficiency in housing provision, the occupation of the Cambridge Hotel, located on the outskirts of São Paulo’s city center, was used as a case study to identify possibilities in the struggle for social housing. The building, initially a hotel built in the 1950s, closed in 2002, was expropriated in 2011, and occupied by the Downtown Homeless Movement (Movimento Sem Teto do Centro) in 2012. The movement, after social tensions and participation in participatory councils, obtained the donation of the property and its license in a federal requalification program. Through qualitative analysis of the housing deficit in Brazil, characterized by the excessive burden of rents and the precariousness of real estate, in contrast to housing policies focused on the production of units through development programs in peripheral locations, it is understood that the analysis of the determining factors for the case study’s feasibility can contribute to the discussion of government policies and actions. The methodology, based on the procedural field, observational methods, and literature review in the logical field, was structured in dialectical and inductive methods for the research, systematization, and critical analysis of bibliographic and documentary references and, in empirical processes, in the qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews and onsite visits. It was concluded that the power of dialogue and formation of the movement’s networks and its strategy, based on surrounding itself with actors that solidify its struggle, contributed to the viability of the Cambridge Hotel as a residential property. Based on the data analyzed, it is also argued that the participation of municipalities is undeniable in enabling the provision of housing in central areas. However, considering the hegemonic bias identified, the political action of social movements and the participation of academia in its instrumentalization are essential to strengthen the Capital-State relationship and enable the collation of territorial policies that the right to the city contemplates.