Right to the City: Dandara

This documentary tells the story of how grassroots housing movements in São Paulo are transforming abandoned buildings into affordable homes—while reshaping urban policy in the process. At its center is the Dandara building, a former government property left empty for years before being occupied and ultimately converted into 120 housing units through collective action and public policy tools like the Special Zones of Social Interest (ZEIS) and Concession of the Real Right to Use (CDRU). The film highlights not just the creation of housing, but the broader impact of living in the city center—closer to jobs, transit, and opportunity. The story of Dandara stands as proof that safe and dignified housing can be achieved when community activism and government policy come together.