Inhabiting . The house as a contingency of human condition

Authors

  • Teresinha Maria Gonçalves Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense

Abstract

This paper is part of a critical and theoretical reflection framed within a research process that began in 2007 and is still ongoing. The research provided by this theoretical reflection covers a temporary line spanning the 2007-2010 period, totalizing eight terms, involving 40 study subjects per term and resulting in a field work that accounted for more than 320 subjects. This research, coordinated by the author, was carried out in the Laboratory for Environment, Urban Development and Environmental Psychology at the University of the Extreme South of Santa Catarina, located in Criciuma, SC, Brazil. The aim of this critical and theoretical reflection, and the research from which it is derived, is to expand the horizons for the understanding of the inhabiting and housing appropriation processes. Such a process can be detectable through the identification of the symbolic dimensions of dwellings: embodiment, cultivation and sense of belonging. This contribution offers a brief comparison between the social context of the research and the social housing policies operating in Brazil, concluding with a preliminary analysis of research data and underlining important aspects that deserve further exploration.

Author Biography

Teresinha Maria Gonçalves, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense

Graduada em Serviço Social pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná, mestrada em Psicologia (Psicologia Social) pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo e doutorada em Meio Ambiente e Desenvolvimento Urbano pela Universidade Federal do Paraná. Professor titular da Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense. Correo electrónico: tmg@unesc.br