Occupation (protest)

As an act of protest, occupation is a strategy often used by social movements and other forms of collective social action in order to squat and hold public and symbolic spaces, buildings, critical infrastructure such as entrances to train stations, shopping centers, university buildings, squares, and parks.

[5] Unlike other forms of protest like demonstrations, marches and rallies, occupation is defined by an extended temporality and is usually located in specific places.

[6] In many cases local governments declare occupations illegal because protesters seek to control space over a prolonged time.

[8][9] Occupation, as a means of achieving change, emerged from worker struggles that sought everything from higher wages to the abolition of capitalism.

Another example was when workers in Sydney, Australia occupied and ran the Harco Steel Factory in 1971 for four weeks after the owner laid off employees.