THE TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE AGENDA OF URBAN REFORM AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: VOICES AND SOCIAL PRACTICES OF POPULAR MOVEMENTS AND TERRITORIES IN THE RMBH

Abstract

This article explores the transformations of social demands in popular territories that inform the emerging challenges and the consequent forms of collective action of social movements in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte (RMBH). From the meetings of researchers and social activists in a training course, we analyze the articulation between the updated agendas and the ideas of Urban Reform and the Right to the City. The meetings promote discussions from the perspective of social movements on urban reform and the right to the city, in addition to disseminating practices that these actors build in their daily activities. The debates held during the course indicate a plurality of agendas and a hybridization of struggles for urban reform and the right to the city. Although historically guided by the housing issue, today there is a broad panorama of interests and needs that are articulated in the practices of social movements. Urban agroecology, for example, is linked to health, food security, the environment, and job and income generation. The scope of action of social movements has expanded towards the integration of agendas. This work contributes to advancing the analysis of the agents, interests and collective actions of social movements in the RMBH.