Squatting and the dispute for culture in the city: between transgression and cooptation

Abstract

The avant-garde and innovative character of the squatting movement led some activists to conceive squatted spaces as fronts on which it is also possible to develop a critique and a cultural alternative, which often takes the form of artistic experimentation. These practices, in addition to being transgressive, tend to be attractive to promoters (public and private) of cities that increasingly vie for a global space, where a niche is frequently gained through cultural policies.The article seeks to elucidate the problematic relationship between the countercultural activities carried out by squatted centers with processes of urban regeneration and gentrification. For this, we will make a theoretical review, as well as a review of empirical cases. In this context, numerous cases illustrate that squatted spaces have been co-opted for gentrifying dynamics.The result, however, indicates that the relationship between the activities of squatted spaces and gentrification is ambivalent and it varies according to each situation.