Subaltern Housing Policies
Background
In the wealthy and orderly city of Geneva, Switzerland, wooden barracks were hastily built between the 1950s and 1980s to house seasonal workers from southern Europe
They were meant to be temporary, as seasonal workers were expected to return
Today, many are still standing and still inhabited
While the seasonal status disappeared in the early 2000s, the demand for low-skilled, flexible labour did not
Who replaced the seasonal workers?
The method
Following the historical trajectories of specific buildings
Makes it possible to trace a link between the production of substandard housing and the production of categories of people who are kept on the margins of full citizenship
Subaltern Housing Policies
The notion of ‘Subaltern Housing Policies’ accounts for the public action that leads to the production and subsequent use of forms of housing characterised by standards of comfort and security far below those of the rental and social housing stock, but considered ‘good enough’ for their occupants
‘Subaltern’ relates not only to housing conditions, but also to the policies themselves, and last but not least to the people who are subjected to them
The latter fall into different categories: 'homeless', 'irregular migrants', 'asylum seekers', etc.
1960
In the background, the picture shows the modern housing that seasonal workers were building for the Swiss residents, but to which they themselves did not have access because of their status.
Photo: Christian Murat, CC-BY Bibliothèque de Genève
2022
These barracks were built with the support of local authorities just a stone’s throw from the construction site of what remains the largest housing development in the region: Le Lignon (2780 dwellings).
Today, they are occupied mostly by low-income workers with temporary permits. The residents pay their rent – 420 francs – in cash.
Photo: M. Felder
Other examples of what results from Subaltern Housing Policies
The temporary conversion of industrial premises into dormitories during the covid pandemic
The temporary use of buildings earmarked for demolition
Laissez-faire approach to slum landlords partitioning residential units
