PhD project: “Between walls and protests: women, activism and the right to housing in the city of Porto”
Reference: 2025.02873.BD
Scientific area: Sociology
Supervisors: Inês Barbosa (IS-UP); Fernando Bessa Ribeiro (CICS.NOVA.UMinho)
Timeline: May 2026 - May 2030
Abstract: This research aims to analyse the role of women in the fight for the right to housing in Porto, within a context of a worsening housing crisis that, due to multiple structural factors, disproportionately affects this group. Drawing on a qualitative, ethnographic and participatory approach, the study privileges close engagement with the field and combines techniques such as participant observation, sociological portraits and photovoice, anchored in the extended case method. The objective is to understand the subjective experiences, challenges, strategies and practices of women actively involved in housing rights movements, highlighting intersectional articulations and the political dimension of their engagement. The study seeks to affirm the centrality of women’s action in the fight for housing justice and to question gender neutral approaches within urban studies. Expected outcomes include innovative theoretical methodological contributions and recommendations for the development of more inclusive public policies, grounded in the concrete experiences, perspectives and demands of these women.
