Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CONTESTED_TERRITORY (From Contested Territories to alternatives of development: Learning from Latin America)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2024-01-01 do 2025-12-31
Contested Territories was an international and intersectoral consortium bringing together 22 academic and non-academic organisations from Europe and Latin America in a joint research programme running from 2020 to 2025. The project addressed a central societal and scientific challenge: how to understand, document and support territories shaped by unequal power relations, capital accumulation, dispossession and socio-environmental conflict, while also recognising the collective practices through which communities defend, reimagine and co-produce alternatives. This challenge is highly relevant for society because territorial conflicts are intensifying in both urban and rural contexts, often in connection with extractivism, housing pressures, environmental degradation, exclusion and the unequal distribution of resources and risks.
Against this background, the overall objective of Contested Territories was to generate conceptual, empirical and methodological knowledge on innovative and sustainable bottom-up models of territorial development. The project sought to move beyond mainstream understandings of sustainable development by producing collaborative and situated knowledge in dialogue with communities, civil society actors, cultural practitioners and researchers. It examined how communities shape, negotiate, imagine and manage territories under contested conditions, and how they develop alternative forms of social integration, adaptation and resistance. A core ambition was to connect critical territorial studies with Latin American popular thought, Indigenous worldviews, decolonial “otros saberes”, ecological, feminist and Marxist perspectives, while also experimenting with audiovisual, artistic and performative methodologies that place communities at the centre of horizontal and trust-based research partnerships.
By the end of the action, the project concluded that contested territories must be understood not only as sites of conflict and dispossession, but also as spaces where alternative territorial futures are actively produced. The project demonstrated that collaborative, participatory and creative research approaches can generate robust scientific knowledge while also strengthening epistemic justice, public debate and the visibility of community-based alternatives.
Against this background, the overall objective of Contested Territories was to generate conceptual, empirical and methodological knowledge on innovative and sustainable bottom-up models of territorial development. The project sought to move beyond mainstream understandings of sustainable development by producing collaborative and situated knowledge in dialogue with communities, civil society actors, cultural practitioners and researchers. It examined how communities shape, negotiate, imagine and manage territories under contested conditions, and how they develop alternative forms of social integration, adaptation and resistance. A core ambition was to connect critical territorial studies with Latin American popular thought, Indigenous worldviews, decolonial “otros saberes”, ecological, feminist and Marxist perspectives, while also experimenting with audiovisual, artistic and performative methodologies that place communities at the centre of horizontal and trust-based research partnerships.
By the end of the action, the project concluded that contested territories must be understood not only as sites of conflict and dispossession, but also as spaces where alternative territorial futures are actively produced. The project demonstrated that collaborative, participatory and creative research approaches can generate robust scientific knowledge while also strengthening epistemic justice, public debate and the visibility of community-based alternatives.
Contested Territories was structured into six work packages: WP1 Project Management; WP2 Approaching Contested Territories: Methodological experimentation and training; WP3 Documenting and visualising Contested Territories: The scope of territorial accumulation; WP4 Connecting and reclaiming Contested Territories: The scope of co-producing alternatives; WP5 Theorising Contested Territories: Generating alternative knowledge(s); and WP6 Dissemination and Communication. Together with an extensive secondment programme, these work packages enabled sustained collaboration across countries, disciplines and sectors, and created a strong basis for international knowledge exchange.
WP2 focused on methodological experimentation and training. The consortium developed and tested a broad range of participatory and creative methods, including training meetings, creation laboratories, audiovisual productions, festivals, podcasts, interventions in public space, performances, walks and collaborative mapping. These experiences were systematised in the Methods and Training Toolkit (D2.2) and the podcast series Other Ways of Researching, providing open and adaptable tools for researchers and communities working in different territories.
WP3 generated one of the project’s main conceptual advances: the notion of territorial accumulation. This situated analytical tool helps explain how capital operates through territories and how these dynamics relate to contemporary ecological and socio-spatial crises. The work produced theoretical reflections, empirical findings and visual documentation that were compiled in the booklet Researching Territorial Accumulation (D3.4) the Atlas of Territorial Accumulation (D3.3) and several working papers and thematic dossiers.
WP4 explored how communities resist dispossession and reclaim territories through collective practices, workshops and performances. The results showed that contestation is not only oppositional, but also productive of alternatives to dominant models of territorial development. These findings were documented in the booklet Experiences of Initiatives Reclaiming Territories (D4.1) the Documentation of Workshops and Performances (D4.2) and in special issues and dossiers published in academic outlets.
WP5 focused on alternative forms of knowledge, especially those marginalised by dominant academic and policy frameworks. Here the consortium highlighted epistemic diversity, reciprocity, ethical responsibility and commitment to epistemic justice as central principles of territorial research. The main outputs included the toolkit Otros saberes (D5.1) the Documentation of Community Workshops (D5.2) and Working Paper 004 on participatory mechanisms, knowledge exchange and decolonial social theory (D5.3).
WP6 implemented an integrated dissemination and exploitation strategy targeted at multiple audiences. This included scientific publications in international journals, working papers on the project website, policy briefs and school booklets, community workshops and performances, conference presentations, a website and YouTube channel, and social media communication. In this way, the project ensured that its results circulated not only in academia but also among civil society organisations, activists, cultural actors and wider publics.
WP2 focused on methodological experimentation and training. The consortium developed and tested a broad range of participatory and creative methods, including training meetings, creation laboratories, audiovisual productions, festivals, podcasts, interventions in public space, performances, walks and collaborative mapping. These experiences were systematised in the Methods and Training Toolkit (D2.2) and the podcast series Other Ways of Researching, providing open and adaptable tools for researchers and communities working in different territories.
WP3 generated one of the project’s main conceptual advances: the notion of territorial accumulation. This situated analytical tool helps explain how capital operates through territories and how these dynamics relate to contemporary ecological and socio-spatial crises. The work produced theoretical reflections, empirical findings and visual documentation that were compiled in the booklet Researching Territorial Accumulation (D3.4) the Atlas of Territorial Accumulation (D3.3) and several working papers and thematic dossiers.
WP4 explored how communities resist dispossession and reclaim territories through collective practices, workshops and performances. The results showed that contestation is not only oppositional, but also productive of alternatives to dominant models of territorial development. These findings were documented in the booklet Experiences of Initiatives Reclaiming Territories (D4.1) the Documentation of Workshops and Performances (D4.2) and in special issues and dossiers published in academic outlets.
WP5 focused on alternative forms of knowledge, especially those marginalised by dominant academic and policy frameworks. Here the consortium highlighted epistemic diversity, reciprocity, ethical responsibility and commitment to epistemic justice as central principles of territorial research. The main outputs included the toolkit Otros saberes (D5.1) the Documentation of Community Workshops (D5.2) and Working Paper 004 on participatory mechanisms, knowledge exchange and decolonial social theory (D5.3).
WP6 implemented an integrated dissemination and exploitation strategy targeted at multiple audiences. This included scientific publications in international journals, working papers on the project website, policy briefs and school booklets, community workshops and performances, conference presentations, a website and YouTube channel, and social media communication. In this way, the project ensured that its results circulated not only in academia but also among civil society organisations, activists, cultural actors and wider publics.
Contested Territories advanced beyond the state of the art by combining critical territorial theory with participatory, artistic and decolonial research practices. It produced an original conceptual vocabulary, especially through the notion of territorial accumulation and the emphasis on otros saberes, while also broadening the methodological repertoire of territorial research through audiovisual, cartographic, performative and community-based approaches. In doing so, the project challenged conventional distinctions between researchers and researched, and opened new ways of understanding how knowledge is co-produced in contested territories.
The project also generated clear societal impacts. One important example is the international Tenant Survey, implemented in cities including Manchester, Madrid, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Karlsruhe and Leipzig. Developed in close dialogue with social organisations and activists, the survey produced much-needed evidence on rental markets and their territorial consequences from a participatory-activist perspective. In cities such as Buenos Aires and Barcelona, the dissemination of the findings contributed to public debate and helped challenge dominant assumptions during politically sensitive discussions on housing regulation and the right to housing.
A second example is the documentary trilogy on water, including the feature film LA CUENCA (Chile), the short film TIGRE ES YAGUARETÉ (Argentina), and the series UMA UÑJIRINAKA / CUIDADORXS DEL AGUA (Bolivia). Co-produced through participatory and experimental methodologies, these audiovisual works documented the knowledge and struggles of Mapuche, Aymara, Querandí and Kichwa communities in relation to water contamination, territorial conflict and environmental justice. The trilogy became an effective tool for public awareness, policy visibility and community advocacy, and was screened at around 18 film festivals in Latin America and Europe, receiving awards in Chile and Mexico in 2024.
Overall, the project’s impacts extend beyond its formal duration. It consolidated a durable Europe–Latin America network, generated transferable methodologies, strengthened the visibility of community-based territorial alternatives, and produced results that remain relevant for future research, teaching, policy debates and public engagement. Its wider societal contribution lies in demonstrating that more inclusive and sustainable territorial futures require not only new policies, but also new forms of collaborative knowledge production grounded in justice, reciprocity and the lived experiences of affected communities.
The project also generated clear societal impacts. One important example is the international Tenant Survey, implemented in cities including Manchester, Madrid, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Lisbon, Karlsruhe and Leipzig. Developed in close dialogue with social organisations and activists, the survey produced much-needed evidence on rental markets and their territorial consequences from a participatory-activist perspective. In cities such as Buenos Aires and Barcelona, the dissemination of the findings contributed to public debate and helped challenge dominant assumptions during politically sensitive discussions on housing regulation and the right to housing.
A second example is the documentary trilogy on water, including the feature film LA CUENCA (Chile), the short film TIGRE ES YAGUARETÉ (Argentina), and the series UMA UÑJIRINAKA / CUIDADORXS DEL AGUA (Bolivia). Co-produced through participatory and experimental methodologies, these audiovisual works documented the knowledge and struggles of Mapuche, Aymara, Querandí and Kichwa communities in relation to water contamination, territorial conflict and environmental justice. The trilogy became an effective tool for public awareness, policy visibility and community advocacy, and was screened at around 18 film festivals in Latin America and Europe, receiving awards in Chile and Mexico in 2024.
Overall, the project’s impacts extend beyond its formal duration. It consolidated a durable Europe–Latin America network, generated transferable methodologies, strengthened the visibility of community-based territorial alternatives, and produced results that remain relevant for future research, teaching, policy debates and public engagement. Its wider societal contribution lies in demonstrating that more inclusive and sustainable territorial futures require not only new policies, but also new forms of collaborative knowledge production grounded in justice, reciprocity and the lived experiences of affected communities.