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Paper short abstract

Based on one year of ethnographic fieldwork in an urban occupation in São Paulo, this contribution examines participatory design, urban plans and collective work practices as epistemic infrastructures reconfiguring territory, autonomy and political intervention in Brazilian peripheries.

Paper long abstract

Drawing on one year of ethnographic fieldwork in an urban occupation on the outskirts of São Paulo, this paper analyses how residents collectively design and build their neighbourhood through participatory workshops, assemblies, scale models, urban plans, and construction brigades mutirões. It proposes approaching autoconstruction not only as a housing practice, but as a space of experimentation where urban concepts, possible futures, and political claims are materialised through artefacts.

Focusing on community design sessions, locally produced urban plans, and the circulation of models, maps, and building devices, the paper examines how these practices operate as epistemic infrastructures. They mediate negotiations with architects, social movements, and public authorities, while simultaneously reshaping local understandings of territory, autonomy, and collective life. Rather than separating “field” and “studio,” the occupation itself is shown to become a hybrid site of research where ethnography unfolds through making, repairing, and speculative design.

Engaging with Science and Technology Studies and multimodal anthropology, the paper explores how participatory design and urban prototypes transform what counts as ethnographic knowledge and political intervention. It argues that these practices generate alternative urban imaginaries that challenge hegemonic planning paradigms in Brazilian peripheries, while raising ethical and methodological questions about collaboration, authorship, and intervention.