Periferia (ins)urgente: da segregação socioespacial ao direito à cidade no morro de Mãe Luiza

Abstract

This work develops a reflection on the dialectical relations between appropriation and domination in the context of the capitalist production of space and, to this end, looks at the case of the Mãe Luiza neighborhood in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. Based on the assumption of the insurgent nature of the socio-spatial practices that take place in its territory, we sought to unveil them in order to understand their role in overcoming the living conditions imposed by segregation. Initially occupying areas next to the beach; carrying out joint efforts and campaigns to pave roads, de-ratification and build housing; making possible the financing, construction and shared management of facilities for collective use: the organization around permanence and the problematization of the main needs of the neighborhood, as well as the social articulation to remedy them, inserts Mãe Luiza into a context of struggles and conquests that are an important milestone in the production of the peripheral space of Natal. Its historical trajectory points to the expansion of the "survival agenda" and highlights the "citizenship agenda" as an emancipatory horizon, making us question what is specific about it for understanding how social groups emerge in the quest to transform the material and immaterial conditions of everyday life. In response, supported by the reflections of the French philosopher Henri Lefebvre, we ratify the hypothesis that the simultaneous and contradictory processes of appropriation and domination of space, resulting from and as a result of the socio-spatial practices that take place in the neighborhood, are moving towards the construction of a "differential space" (Lefebvre, 2013[1974]), being one that expresses the conquest of the right to differences, resistance and pluralities, from which the possibilities of social transformation are emphasized. This journey, despite aiming for the realization of the lefebvrian-utopian urban, remains immersed in the bonds of the possible, characterizing the dialectical link between abstract and differential logic: the "space of resistance" (Coelho-de-Souza, 2015b). Using the methodological strategies considered successful by our author of reference, the thesis is structured around the regressiveprogressive method, from which we take an initially descriptive and curious look at the insurgency in the neighborhood, returning to the moments that contribute to its formation and returning to the present to weave the seams that allow us to understand its specificities. We also used qualitative research procedures and techniques, such as semi-structured interviews based on the dialog between the Paroles d'habitants (Lefebvre, 1970; Haumont, 2001; Raymond, 2011) and Comprehensive Interview (Kauffman, 2013) methods. With an investigation that emphasizes and privileges the analysis of what is lived, we highlight the Nossa Senhora da Conceição Socio-Pastoral Center as the protagonist of the scenario of conquests and empowerment of this urban peripheral nucleus, contributing to ratifying the dimension of use and appropriation in the production of urban space and the consequent resumption and expansion of the encounter, the playful, the work and the right to the city.