Grammars of development. From informal economy to informal settlements

Abstract

This article seeks to deepen the discussion of the term ‘informal’ and its history. Through a genealogy based on scientometric and documental analyses, we observed that it emerged in the field of economics in 1960 and was widely disseminated until the late 1990s, when it was re-signified as an urban typology associated with slums. The Habitat I, II, and III conferences revealed alignments and inflections between international agendas of diffuse rights and urbanization strategies for precarious settlements. We verified the moment when the term ‘informal settlement’ started to be used in Brazil, its generality, imprecision, and the disqualifying aspects that its use as an adjective enables. The final comments point to necessary revisions in public policies and academic research to obtain greater precision in concepts and reduce the stigmatization of territories.