Dissemination

Resisting at the Margin: Housing Rights in Segundo Torrão debated at Livable Cities – Lisbon 2025

---

Researcher Gabriella Fontes Leite will present the paper “Resisting at the Margin: Struggles for Housing Rights in the Segundo Torrão Neighbourhood, Almada” at the international conference Livable Cities – Lisbon 2025, taking place from 9 to 11 July 2025 in Lisbon. The event will be held in a hybrid format (online and in person) and brings together experts from different fields to discuss inclusive and sustainable solutions to contemporary urban challenges.

The presentation revisits and expands the research developed as part of the author’s master’s thesis, focusing on the self-produced neighbourhood of Segundo Torrão, in Almada — a territory marked by deep socio-spatial inequalities, intensified by the effects of capitalist urbanisation. The study proposes a critical analysis of the impacts of public housing policies, with particular attention to the “Mais Habitação” programme (2023–2024), and examines the consequences of practices such as forced evictions, coercive rehousing processes, and the lack of community participation.

Beyond institutional and territorial analysis, the research highlights cultural and community-based practices of resistance emerging in the neighbourhood, particularly those developed by the collective Gueto Family. Its members use rap, digital art, and collaborative media as tools for expression, denunciation, and identity affirmation. Through initiatives such as the exhibition Arqueologias da Destruição, the research emphasises the role of artistic creation as a form of memory production and a tool for housing justice.

The conference Livable Cities – Lisbon 2025 proposes an interdisciplinary reflection on building more equitable cities, addressing themes such as social justice, inclusion, urban planning, public health, mobility, culture, and civic participation. Gabriella Leite’s presentation aligns with this proposal by bringing the voices and practices of marginalised territories to the centre of academic debate, while also questioning hegemonic models of urban intervention.

More information:

Lisbon Livable Cities Conference | 2025

Os rappers que cantam para mudar o Segundo Torrão, na Trafaria

---