{"id":62711,"date":"2021-06-11T10:59:49","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T13:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=62711"},"modified":"2021-10-21T09:37:22","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T12:37:22","slug":"community-land-trusts-and-the-struggle-for-the-right-to-the-city-dialogue-on-rio-and-mozambique-backdated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=62711","title":{"rendered":"Community Land Trusts and the Struggle for the Right to the City: Dialogue on Rio and Mozambique"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n

As part of the activities of <\/span>UN-Habitat<\/span><\/a>\u2019s <\/span>2020 Urban Circuit<\/span><\/a>, the <\/span>Community Land Trust (CLT)<\/span><\/a> Working Group held a livestreamed virtual event on October 20, 2020, facilitated by <\/span>Catalytic Communities (CatComm)<\/span><\/a>*, entitled \u201c<\/span>The Community Land Trust As an Instrument of Urban Transformation: A Debate With Experiences of Rio de Janeiro and Mozambique<\/span><\/a>.\u201d The event featured two researchers and four Rio de Janeiro community leaders, all involved in the struggle for the right to the city. They presented some of their experiences working with the topic and discussed <\/span>how CLTs can contribute to this fight<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The event was moderated by Felipe Litsek, a researcher, lawyer, and assistant to the CLT Working Group, and featured Ailton Lopes, second secretary of the Residents\u2019 Association of the <\/span>Trapicheiros<\/span><\/a> favela in <\/span>Tijuca<\/span><\/a>; Eleonora Dobles, a UN-Habitat Program Assistant who studied Metropolitan Governance and did field research on informal land markets in Maputo, <\/span>Mozambique<\/span><\/a>; Marcello Deodoro, a member of the <\/span>Indiana<\/span><\/a> favela’s Residents\u2019 Commission in Tijuca and participant in Rio’s\u00a0<\/span>Popular Council<\/span><\/a>; <\/span>Maria da Penha<\/span><\/a>, a resident of <\/span>Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/span><\/a> and co-founder of the <\/span>Evictions Museum<\/span><\/a>; Neide Mattos, a resident of <\/span>Conjunto Esperan\u00e7a<\/span><\/a> in <\/span>Col\u00f4nia Juliano Moreira<\/span><\/a>, part of the <\/span>Minha Casa Minha Vida-Entidades<\/span><\/a> public housing program; and <\/span>Tarcyla Fidalgo<\/span><\/a>, Rio de Janeiro’s\u00a0<\/span>CLT Project<\/span><\/a> Coordinator and a doctoral student in urban planning at <\/span>IPPUR<\/span><\/a>–<\/span>UFRJ<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

As Lopes explained, the event \u201cbrought understanding to those who did not know about CLTs and expanded the knowledge of those who already did.\u201d The event demonstrated that even in different contexts, such as those of Brazil and Mozambique, the same <\/span>threats of eviction and gentrification<\/span><\/a> exist, despite the fact that, in Mozambique\u2019s case, land is state owned. In Brazil\u2019s case, where CLTs are being introduced in an ongoing process, the community leaders engaged in the CLT Working Group gave exciting testimonials emphasizing what they are seeking from the instrument: <\/span>legal protection<\/span><\/a> to be able to remain on their land, resisting removal either by the state or market forces, and tools to strengthen and maintain community organizing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her presentation about <\/span>what CLTs really are and how they work<\/span><\/a>, Fidalgo explained that, above all, a CLT is an instrument to guarantee tenure security for vulnerable populations. It deals with a model of collective land management, characterized by separation between collective ownership of land and individual ownership of houses and buildings. By combining legal, social and urban planning actions, CLTs aim guarantee the tenure of residents in their homes and offer permanent affordable housing for low-income families.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The land is owned by the CLT, which is a local non-profit organization formed by residents and managed collectively. The house, its upgrades and yard, belong to individual residents by means of surface rights, which are formalized by a notary public. This way, when they become surface-rights title-holders to their houses, residents have the right to use them as they see fit, and are able to sell, rent or pass them on as inheritance to family members. The land, however, is permanently withdrawn from the market, which maintains the housing permanently affordable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cycle of mega-events in Rio de Janeiro brought the biggest wave of evictions in the city’s history, and, according to Fidalgo, it demonstrated that the titling options currently available are <\/span>no guarantee of permanence<\/span><\/a> in the territory. Entire communities, with or without titles, suffered from evictions either caused by the State and its repressive apparatus, or by the market, when, due to <\/span>gentrification and real estate speculation<\/span><\/a>, an area\u2019s living standards increased or pressure was put on residents to sell their homes to entrepreneurs, forcing residents to move. It was due to these issues, and inspired by the <\/span>success story<\/span><\/a> of the <\/span>Fideicomiso de la Tierra del Ca\u00f1o Mart\u00edn Pe\u00f1a<\/span><\/a> in San Juan, <\/span>Puerto Rico<\/span><\/a>\u2014the first <\/span>CLT in Latin America<\/span><\/a> and one of the <\/span>few implemented in favelas<\/span><\/a> in the world\u2014that CatComm developed the CLT Project. It aims to <\/span>make the tool a reality for Rio favelas<\/span><\/a>, demonstrating its potential and working to implement it in the city.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Despite the differences, Dobles stressed that the similarities between Mozambique and Brazil are striking. In addition to Portuguese colonization and certain joint cultural heritages, urban precariousness is a common feature in both countries: \u201cThe majority of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, is occupied by informal communities known as <\/span>cani\u00e7os<\/span><\/i>, most of them located on the outskirts of the city and very similar to Brazilian favelas.\u2019\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the country’s independence in 1975, the new Mozambican government has prioritized land nationalization: land became state property and its sale is prohibited. There is no ownership, but instead a right of occupation known as the <\/span>Duat<\/span><\/i> (Right to Use and Take Advantage of Land). \u201cThe Mozambican Land Law of 1979 is considered one of the most progressive land laws in the world. Through a designated social function of property, communities in addition to individuals can be legally guaranteed the collective right to use and take advantage of the land with the <\/span>Duat,<\/span><\/i>\u201d said Dobles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent legislation, however, has partially modified the law, allowing the exchange and sale of <\/span>Duats<\/span><\/i>, and now it is no longer possible to avoid a common problem in cities around the world: <\/span>gentrification<\/span><\/a>. \u201c<\/span>Polana Cani\u00e7o<\/span><\/i> is the most striking example,\u201d said Dobles. This coastal and central neighborhood of Maputo was traditionally inhabited by low-income populations, but for some years now, in the name of supposed urban regeneration and due to flooding dangers, residents have been moved to peripheral areas of the city, opening up land in an area highly valued for real estate speculation. This process is <\/span>very familiar to citizens of Rio<\/span><\/a>. According to Dobles, the CLT model has everything needed to help combat such speculative pressure dynamics occurring in Maputo.<\/span><\/p>\n