Social Action Development Institute (Ideas)

Create an urban network of popular resistance to that allows communities and movements to better accompany land conflicts in Salvador’s historic district.

• Political and legal accompaniment of land conflicts.
• Networking meetings.
• Creation of publicity materials.
• Political training in the right to the city and urban land conflicts.
• Creation of a webpage for the Network of Communities/Movements in Salvador’s Historic District.
• Communities and Movements general meeting.

There has been a worsening of the urban land conflicts owing to the current revitalization projects in Salvador’s historic district, which unites the public authorities at the municipal, state and federal level, in partnership with private initiative. The revitalization project’s goal is to re-qualify the region through projects based on the “reconquest” of the city center for corporate and speculative capital. Investments from the Growth Acceleration Program destined to historic sites (PAC-Cidades Históricas) directly affect the communities of Gamboa de Baixo and Ladeira da Conceição da Praia. They seek the removal of the local population to open space for private investment. On a different front, action coordinated by the Historic Salvador Board, in partnership with the Artistic and Cultural Patrimony Institute of the State of Bahia, is looking to transfer the domain of more than 1,500 lots held to be vacant and underutilized to a real estate fund managed by private capital and the public stock markets. Part of these lots has been occupied for decades by the local black, low-income population. Those affected are the residents of Chácara Santo Antônio, the MSTB occupations and the residents of the 2 de Julho neighborhood.

Ideas works with popular assistance with regard to urban conflicts generated by violations of the right to the city. It helps movements fight for housing rights and supports popular urban resistance. Along with accompanying the demands of various communities, it participates in the networking of other popular organizations.

- Renap (National Network of Popular Lawyers).
- IPDMS (Institute of Research on Rights and Social Movements).
- MSTB (Homeless Movement of Bahia).
- Center for Social Actions and Studies.
- University Legal Assistance Service of the Federal University of Bahia.