ABSTRACT
Squats occupied by migrants can be said to be truly political issues for at least three reasons. Firstly, they result from the political mechanisms involved in government's migration and housing policies. Secondly, they epitomize the need for everyone to have a proper roof over their head, not to say the need for a more equitable society. Thirdly, squats constitute political arenas because they are meeting-places where migrants come into contact with people from other social environments. Neighbors, social workers, journalists, students, and union members can also enter this social arena as a place of action and communication. Politicization is a two-way process, which works like contagion, promoting the circulation of ideas. It can therefore be said to involve a kind of trajectory from one point of view to another, corresponding to a deep belief in social justice and the hope of building a better and more equitable society.
