O comum e a metrópole brasileira: além do impasse da reforma urbana?

Abstract

This paper discusses the current impasse of urban reform in Brazil from the perspective of the commons, with reference to the debate on land ownership and urban occupations, and points to ways throughwhich the idea of urban commonscan contribute to overcome such impasse. To do so, we recover the main steps of the movement's path for urban reform in Brazil, pointing out some contradictions and absences that helptoelucidate its current impasse. We suggest that one of the main causes of this impasse has been the non-confrontation of the problem of land ownership,restricted to public-private binarism. To go beyond the State and the market, we present an overview of the main historical and theoretical approaches of the commons, in general, and more specifically the debates around urban commons, considering its relevance for discussing Brazilian urban reality. Finally, we reflect on alternative and more collective property arrangements that challenge the hegemonic ownershipmodel of private property, with an emphasis on the experiences of urban occupations inBelo Horizonte.