Squatting
occupation of an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. Squatting typically occurs when people find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing.
In developing countries and the least developed countries, shanty towns often begin as squatted settlements. In African cities such as Lagos, much of the population lives in slums. There are pavement dwellers in India and in Hong Kong as well as rooftop slums. Informal settlements in Latin America are known by names such as villa miseria (Argentina), pueblos jóvenes (Peru) and asentamientos irregulares (Guatemala, Uruguay). In Brazil, there are favelas in the major cities and land-based movements in rural areas.
In industrialized countries, there are often residential squats and also left-wing squatting movements, which can be anarchist, autonomist or socialist in nature, for example in the United States. Oppositional movements from the 1960s and 1970s created freespaces in Denmark, the Netherlands and the self-managed social centres of Italy. Each local situation determines the context: in England and Wales, there were estimated to be 50,000 squatters in the late 1970s; in Athens, Greece, there are refugee squats.
The public source identifies “Squatting” as occupation of an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Squatting, occupation and abandoned.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Squatting”, the useful work is to connect “occupation of an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q44854. The Library of Congress control number is sh85127103. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Squatting”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Squatting primary sources, Squatting archive and Squatting research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Squatting”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Squatting” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.