Queer Geographies: dwelling as a vector of socio-spatial justice

Abstract: this abstract proposal lies on my PhD research trajectory in Gender and Urban Studies, adopting an intersectional and interdisciplinary approach. In particular, it investigates the critical articulations between housing vulnerability and social inclusion of urban LGBTQ+ communities in southern European cities (Rome and Lisbon), analysing some of their spatial claims and initiatives that allow for a reconfiguration of our socio- ecological practices towards commoning and care. The empirical multisite research, using geo-ethnographical tools, explores the right to housing as a fundamental right to the city and a key pillar of social reproduction in contemporary societies. Indeed, in parallel with the rise of neoliberal logic and erosion of public welfare, current urban processes exacerbate the problem of inequalities already existing within the urban environment, increasing housing vulnerability and dispossessions. The research aims to promote socio-spatial justice for sexual and gender minorities and develops trajectories for gender inclusive urban planning programmes and housing policies as infrastructures of inclusion and care, activating participatory policy-design processes. Despite decades of queer geographical scholarship that questions the heteronormative assumptions embedded in the design and management of cities, LGBTQ+ supportive social inclusion has not yet been integrated through plans and policies into the everyday work of urban governance (Bain and Podmore, 2021). The widespread urban requalification and gentrification processes often hide productivist logic and target marginalisation and forced expulsion operations based on racist and securitarian rhetorics (Federici, 2018; Sassen, 2014). These trends, in combination with the economic crisis and weak housing welfare, are particularly evident in tourist cities such as Rome and Lisbon which have been affected by a voracious phase of financialisation and profiting from housing platforms over the last few years, leading to an exponential increase in rent prices and the expulsion of inhabitants unable to afford these costs (Rolnik, 2019). These processes call for an urgent rethinking of our inclusive policies on both local and transnational scales in light of the growing interconnection between social inequalities and current global emergencies. This research claims a place for LGBTQ+ knowledge, networks, experiences, and practices in social inclusion policies and community plans towards liveable, healthy and sustainable cities. Following the development of two grass-rooted housing projects Queerinale in Rome and CasaT in Lisbon, I will investigate how queer agencies can rethink our models of coexistence towards the construction of inclusive urban communities as infrastructures of care (Care Collective, 2021).