Competing for the city to build democracy: popular resistance and the struggle for housing in the face of the LRT’s implementation in Campina Grande – Paraíba

Abstract

Seeking to document the struggle for housing experienced by those affected by the LRT project in Campina Grande, Paraíba, this study aims to contextualize their political activism as a means of strengthening the tools of social participation, grassroots leadership in decision-making processes regarding urban transformation, and the struggle for the democratization of the city. Multiple methodological procedures were employed. A literature review was conducted to identify references capable of reflecting the contemporary world, the brazilian reality, and an inclusive, participatory, and collectively constructed urban planning approach rooted in the most vulnerable local actors, rejecting technocratic concepts and those geared toward the private interests of the real estate market. In the empirical field, neighborhood meetings, public hearings, and demonstrations were monitored, employing participant observation through grassroots technical advisory work, which enabled the shared construction of situated and politically engaged knowledge. Finally, this experience is portrayed as a living laboratory in which, even within the confines of the struggle for rights, organic initiatives flourish that go beyond mere demands: they involve the struggle to transform reality.