Para um habitar compartilhado, participativo, intergeracional. Pensar a favela entre a didática e o projeto

Informal settlements represent one of the greatest challenges of our time today; on one hand, they demand to be redesigned, on the other hand, they shy away from the formal/informal divide and any planning that is not grassroots-led. They pose a deeper question to politics, urban planning, and architecture. An anthropological issue that concerns not only housing precariousness but also the very concept of dwelling and its form. The contribution presents some outcomes of the theoretical and design research work carried out together with the students of the Architectural and Urban Design course at Sapienza University of Rome. The investigations are part of the transition processes from slums to neighborhoods and, on a small scale, from unhealthy housing to dignified living. By presenting two case studies, the text highlights the chosen intervention methodologies, the settlement difficulties encountered, as well as the constant mediation between construction possibilities and spatial needs. The study has highlighted that architectural design must ensure decent living conditions but also redesign informal realities in relation to the contemporary city, without denying its inhabitants the socio-cultural dynamics that are specific to the city, with a particular focus on public spaces and their vitality.