«Siamo una famiglia». Occupazioni abitative, sociétés à maisons e alienazione residenziale a Milano

Starting from ethnographic research begun in 2015, the essay seeks to analyse some specific forms of relationship and “family-making” in the context of a squatting project in the outskirts of Milan. The discussion focuses on the Project Management Committee and its structure, proposing an analysis of the interconnections among squatting practices, family ties and temporary domesticity. The goal is to use thick ethnographic material to flesh out an insight presented by Starechesky in an article dedicated to the life of a New York squat, in an attempt to problematize a conceptualization according to which family ties are reproduced exclusively through blood and marriage. In the case presented here, such ties seem to be reproduced mainly through sharing practices. This consideration invites us to dialogue with Lévi-Strauss’s well- known formulation of société à maisons in an attempt to analyse the communities residing in these squats in light of the concept of house society, albeit with certain analytical limits and problematic aspects that are thoroughly dissected in this essay. Setting off from this suggestion, the attempt is to lay the foundations for a debate about squatting practices and policies from an unusual perspective, one that is attentive to the bonds and networks of relationships established in these unique living spaces.