Housing Financialization in Sharing Economy Contexts

Abstract

Constructions of urban space in Brazil have been partially shaped by agents and sectors aiming to serve financial interests. Consequently, cities have become increasingly segregated and inequitable. This pattern of urban production is manifested through housing financialization, which was rooted in the 1970s onward. In this context, new economic dynamics with supposedly more sustainable purposes, such as the Circular Economy, the Sharing Economy, and the Creative Economy, have emerged, indicating the establishment of new paradigms in constructions of urban space. However, considering that the city is an object of dispute and interest, the entrenched logic of financialization in the production of space suggests potential tensions with these new economic dynamics. Thus, adopting a literature review combined with a critical discussion as its methodological approach, this essay aims to analyze the context of housing production resulting from financialization processes, contrasting it with the impacts of these new economic dynamics. As a contribution, this essay reflects on the tensions between the reproduction of inequitable cities in Brazil, embedded in new forms of housing production encompassed by financialization but presented under the guise of the sustainability agenda that has shaped many Brazilian cities.