Exchanging Capital: Feminist Encounters in a 1960s Urban Squat in Copenhagen

The article considers Sofiegården, a cluster of properties in Copenhagen squatted from 1965- 1969 by young people seeking to create a community-oriented form of living. The story of these squatters and the political powers that worked to demolish Sofiegården challenges the dominant narratives of squatting in the 1960s. In historical accounts, Sofiegården is often presented as a conflict between young people revolting against the lack of urban housing and heroically creating new forms of cohabitation, while the politicians, developers, and police are seen as villains without empathy. Employing Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of capital, we complicate this narrative by analyzing how the squatters – many of whose public-facing figures were women – strategically utilized their social and cultural capital to fight for urban justice and what they argued was their right to the city. In particular, we unpack the agenda of their most public opponent, housing mayor Edel Saunte, and her feminist position on urban justice, which ended up clashing with those of the squatters. The battle of Sofiegården thus opens a window to a complicated feminist encounter that ends in the use of hard power – a history that provides a useful branch of thought for contemporary debates concerning the housing crisis and spatial justice.