Scarcity, Consumption, and Social Impact

In this research, we approach the societal and consumption implications of living in chronic scarcity by focusing on the experiences of highly vulnerable families. We have been conducting a qualitative-interpretative investigation with women who have built their houses in squatter settlements in the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, often leaving without running water, sanitation, urban cleaning, regularized energy, and zip code. We aim to understand how they deal with both resource and product scarcity from the individual and collective perspective, for example by relying on alternative solutions.