Territorializing University Extension to promote access to rights: the urban habitat in question

Abstract

This article addresses discussions regarding the ways of conceptualizing University Extension and the challenges involved in territorializing the University. The objective is to reflect on the challenges of Extension as a university social process based on work experiences that have been developed since 2013 around the issue of access to habitat and the right to the city in Tandil (Buenos Aires province, Argentina). In this sense, the methods employed fall within the perspective of participatory action research, with various complementary techniques such as document analysis, interviews as well as participant observation in the territories. Through a reflective and experiential analysis of the praxis of the Extension team focused on Housing and the Right to the City, the article delves into the debate on the role of University Extension in the current context, emphasizing the importance of understanding the University as a field of contestation. This requires questioning the theoretical, pedagogical, ethical-political, epistemic, and methodological perspectives that shape the model of the university and society to which these interventions aim to contribute. The results contribute to reflecting on the territorialization of the University and the construction of counter-hegemonic territorialities as a way of developing public policies and management strategies to promote access to rights, in collaboration with institutions and social organizations present in the territories.