Work

A Performative Approach to Urban Informality: Learning from Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro

Year: 1969

Type: article

Abstract: In light of perpetuated exclusions in and through urban development, governance and planning along the dichotomy of formality and informality, I argue that informality should be conceived of as a socially embedded and embodied signifier. Building upon recent approaches to overcome the dichotomy, I hence develop a performative approach toward urban informality. I discuss informality as a methodological orientation to rethink power relations inherent to dwelling and confined housing. Engaging in a transnational and mutual learning process, the paper conducts a “disjunctive comparison” (Lazar 2012) between suburban areas of Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro. Building on ethnographic data, I highlight the active integration of wealthier populations in performing informality and demonstrate that, as a socially embedded role and at times strategically appropriated signifier, informality partakes in a deepening precariousness, and in a normalisation of uncertainty as a form of governing in urban Latin America.

Source: Anthropologica

DOI: 10.3138/anth.2018-0011

Author: Frank Müller

Institution: University of Amsterdam

Language: English

Topic: Latin American Urban Studies

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: European Commission, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior