UC Santa Barbara

Squatting is often interpreted as a housing practice that promotes physical decay and jeopardizes public order and safety. Existing literature about squatting in Europe is primarily focused on cases that are politically and ideologically motivated. Understudied research areas include the associations between discourse and lived experiences of these precarious housing arrangements, squatting and physical deterioration of urban historic landscapes, and squatters and neighborhood social cohesion. This dissertation further interrogates these associations by first providing an analysis of the narrative about squatting that is dominant in the public policy domain and popular opinion. The discursive context of squatting in the public policy domain shapes urban and housing policies. I challenge this dominant discourse by collecting personal accounts regarding lived experiences of squatting, thematically analyzing these qualitative data, comparing these realities to official census data, and systematically assessing observable signs of physical decay and prevention of social disorder using Google Street View images. This dissertation contributes to emerging scholarship by exploring multiple dimensions of housing insecurity, potentially positive impact of squatting on historic urban landscapes, and squatters’ social relations. Findings show that squatting is a complex social process that is transformed by popular opinion and public policy discourse into an “urban problem” with negative impacts on historic landscapes and neighborhood cohesion. For some of Bucharest’s socioeconomically disadvantaged and housing insecure families, the dominant discourse about squatting excludes their voices and lived experiences from urban governance. This dissertation shares some of their experiences and perspectives about the practice of informal housing in Bucharest’s historic center.