Learning Displacement: a Sociotechnical Analysis of Educational Infrastructure in Brazilian Informal Settlements

• In Event: STS and the City: Engagements and Interventions in Techno-Politics III

Abstract

The story of self-building in Brazilian informal settlements is often told by way of housing, as a practice that emerged following mid-century mass urbanization and then subsequently declined in the 1990s. However, it was during this time period when selfbuilders in São Paulo recognized the limitations of housing to provide inroads to greater social inclusion – despite its historical role as a community stabilizer. Their insights gave rise to educational infrastructure: sociotechnical networks that improve access to quality education, support participatory approaches to community development, and assimilate housing and education in ways yet to be achieved by conventional development processes. These networks facilitate learning that hinges upon the movement of ideas among people and creation of space within informal settlements, not subordination to inequitable structural conditions. Drawing on four years of ethnographic research and based on my doctoral dissertation, this paper examines the intersection between self-built housing practices and education in São Pauloʼs Heliópolis favela. 1 I draw on a combined Science and Technology Studies (STS) and International Planning framework and argue that self-buildingʼs educational spillover effects have compelling social and physical outcomes that are underutilized by Brazilʼs progressive urban policies that espouse equity and inclusion.

Author

• Kristine Stiphany, The University of Texas at Austin Department of Community and Regional Planning