From a shack to a house: Time, space, and value(s) in a consolidated family

Abstract

The article consists of an ethnographic analysis of the favela consolidation in contemporary Rio de Janeiro, understood here as a result of the juxtaposition of two seemingly contradictory socio-historical processes: (1) the replacement of favela removal programs by urbanization programs and projects, giving rise to a recent construction boom in the favelas and to an unprecedented commoditization of their space; (2) the appropriation of the space of the favelas by the drug trade, which (re)produces and reinforces the physical, social, and symbolic boundaries between the favela and the so-called "asphalt." This context is explored through a conception of the house as a total social fact: the transition from the stucco shack to the masonry house (increasingly converted into a "fortress") renders the space of the favela and particularly of the house as process, future project, and a source of value, both economic and subjective.