UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

PLANNING FOR HOUSING

DEVELOPMENT IN BRAZIL :
PLANNING, POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION
A REVIEW ABOUT URBAN HOUSING POLICY IN BRAZIL AND HOW THE
POLICY SHAPES THE COUNTRY HOUSING GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

HOUSING SCHEME IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

POSTGRADUATES AND RESEARCH CENTRE

FACULTY ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND SURVEYING
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA
SHAH ALAM
UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

INTRODUCTION
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HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

• Despite major urban developments, both the housing supply and
living conditions in Brazil remain inadequate.
• Large, sprawling slums are endemic in the large cities, while most
rural dwellers live without amenities such as piped water and
electricity.
• In the mid-1990s, there were nearly 35 million residences. At last
estimate, more than 80% of all housing units were detached houses
of brick, stone, wood or concrete; less than 10% were apartments;
less than 10% were rural dwellings of wood or clay; and less than
5% were semi-private units called "quartes." Roughly 74% of all
dwellings were owner occupied.

Source:http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Brazil-
HOUSING.html#ixzz1E3QPFOjY
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HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

• In 1964, the federal government enacted the National Housing Act
and suspended rent controls, with the stipulation that rents could be
brought in line with private market levels.
• The law provided for the establishment of the National Housing Bank
(Banco Nacional de Habitação, or BNH), whose main purposes are
to stimulate savings to finance home construction through lending
institutions, to coordinate the activities of both the public and private
sectors, and to introduce financial incentives.
• The BNH can raise funds through bond issues and may also receive
deposits from governmental agencies, public cooperatives, and
mixed companies.

Source:http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Brazil-
HOUSING.html#ixzz1E3QPFOjY
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HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

• The National Housing Bank (Banco Nacional de Habitação--BNH)
was established to finance public housing using funds from savings
accounts and from the official employment guarantee system, known
as the Severance Pay Fund (Fundo de Garantia do Tempo de
Serviço--FGTS).
• Many thousands of basic houses (casas populares) were built,
usually in projects at the edges or outside of cities. Because of the
financial constraints of working with a low-income clientele, the
federal Housing Finance System (Sistema Financeiro de Habitação--
SFH) has been used primarily to provide low-cost mortgages for
houses and apartments for the middle class.

Source:http://www.photius.com/countries/brazil/society/brazil_society_h
ousing.html
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HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

• Many poor people, without access to financing, find it necessary to
build their own houses. The favelas on the hills of Rio de Janeiro are
one well-known type. In other parts of Brazil, shantytowns on stilts
are built over water (alagados ), or in marshy areas (baixadas ). In
1991 there were 3,221 medium- to large-size favelas (each with
more than fifty-one households), which contained 2.9 percent of the
country's households. The largest favelas, such as Rocinha in Rio de
Janeiro, are home to hundreds of thousands.

Source:http://www.photius.com/countries/brazil/society/brazil_society_h
ousing.html
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

• Many poor people, without access to financing, find it necessary to
build their own houses. The favelas on the hills of Rio de Janeiro are
one well-known type. In other parts of Brazil, shantytowns on stilts
are built over water (alagados ), or in marshy areas (baixadas ). In
1991 there were 3,221 medium- to large-size favelas (each with
more than fifty-one households), which contained 2.9 percent of the
country's households. The largest favelas, such as Rocinha in Rio de
Janeiro, are home to hundreds of thousands.

Source:http://www.photius.com/countries/brazil/society/brazil_society_h
ousing.html
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

House for Canishua People Raft House in Amazon River, Brazil

Source: Source:
http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/cashinah http://www.wildernessclassroom.com/amazon/
ua/people 2008/10/taking_shelter_in_the_brazilia.html
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

HOUSING IN BRAZIL: EARLY AGES

Amazon Indian House House developed by Health, Environment, and

Source:
http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/loc
ations-and-travel/6983322-traditional-
amazon-indian-house.php?id=6983322
Economic Development (HEED) program
Source:
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2004/112-
3/niehsnews.html
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LOW INCOME HOUSING: SAO SEBASTIO EXPERIENCE

• In many Brazilian cities, regulating land tenure together with

upgrading existing irregular settlements are fundamental goals in
housing policies, particularly in dealing with “favelas” (squatter
settlements).
• Clientelism was a factor in the formal structures promoting housing
during the current government in Brazil, a country where frequent
institutional changes have provided the opportunity for new client—
patron chains to penetrate the government apparatus.
• In the city of São Paulo for instance, the local government has put
a great amount of effort and money into land acquisition for low-
income housing projects.

Source:
http://eau.sagepub.com/content/19/2/391.abstract
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&co
ntext=focus
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

LOW INCOME HOUSING: SAO SEBASTIO EXPERIENCE

• It terms of the planning and design of low-income housing by São

Sebastião, three major aspects are to be considered.
• Firstly, in Brazil local governments have no tradition of providing for
housing, except in larger cities such as São Paulo where it is still
very recent. Lack of public resources and financial means have
always marked Brazilian small cities; even if the National Housing
Bank was inefficient, its extinction created a much larger void in
the production of low-income housing.
• Housing as a local planning issue has not yet been prioritized by
the city in terms of data collection, analysis, and proposals to be
considered within the planning process.

Source:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&
context=focus
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

LOW INCOME HOUSING: SAO SEBASTIO EXPERIENCE

• Secondly, participatory planning processes are almost unheard of

in local government planning practices, again a situation not unlike
the vast majority of Brazilian cities.
• Despite the fact the Local Plan of 1998 set up a participatory
system as a condition for local planning in São Sebastião, there
were almost no such initiatives since then. The absence of
community participation has amplified social exclusion, particularly
in terms of access to land and in the production of low cost
housing.

Source:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&
context=focus
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

LOW INCOME HOUSING: SAO SEBASTIO EXPERIENCE

• The final aspect to be considered is the lack of design quality. On

one hand, even the small number of housing units provided by the
local government were extremely poorly designed in every possible
sense: aesthetics, quality of the construction, mix of housing types,
quality of the architecture and the urban design, etc.

Source:
http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&
context=focus
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

LOW INCOME HOUSING: SAO SEBASTIO EXPERIENCE

 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

LOW INCOME HOUSING: SAO SEBASTIO EXPERIENCE

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING: A CURRITIBA EXPERIENCE

• Curitiba does not neglect the needs of its poorest citizens. In 1976,
the city adopted a Slum Relocation Plan to assist low-income
families.
• The Public Housing Company of Curitiba built low-income
housing near the centre of the city instead of far away from the
centre, which is typical of US cities as well as major cities around
the world.
• The incorporation of public housing with the rest of the city has
created socially integrated neighbourhoods that provide public
health, education, day care centres, and recreational services.
• By meeting the needs of the poorest, the city has also saved
money and energy because low-income neighbourhoods, with all
the necessary amenities, reduce the need for travel.

Source:
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Curitiba,_Brazil
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: A CURRITIBA EXPERIENCE

Affordable Housing - With the city's support, citizens buy their homes
and develop them according to their needs. They are designed to
accommodate small business on the ground and living space on the
upper floors.

Affordable Housing for Curitiba

Source: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Curitiba,_Brazil
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING: A CURRITIBA EXPERIENCE

Neighbourhood Home Shop - At the end of a working day, residents

of this public house development have to walk just a few steps to do
their daily shopping.

Photo: Affordable Housing for Curitiba

Source: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Curitiba,_Brazil
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: A CURRITIBA EXPERIENCE

Public Housing Village - Here citizens enjoy the sunset walking up

and down the street of their affordable housing with the feeling they are
part of the city.

Photo: Affordable Housing for Curitiba

Source: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Curitiba,_Brazil
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: A CURRITIBA EXPERIENCE

Repetition Housing - This is an example of construction the creators

wanted to avoid. Residents are placed in identical buildings isolated
from the rest of the city

Photo: Affordable Housing for Curitiba

Source: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Curitiba,_Brazil
UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

CONCLUSION
 UDM 715 : URBAN HOUSING

REFERENCE
www.photius.com/countries/brazil/society/brazil_society_housing.html
www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Brazil-HOUSING.html#ixzz1E3QPFOjY
www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/locations-and-travel/6983322-traditional-amazon-
indian-house.php?id=6983322
digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=focus
ehp.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2004/112-3/niehsnews.html
eau.sagepub.com/content/19/2/391.abstract
www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/cashinahua/people
http://www.wildernessclassroom.com/amazon/2008/10/taking_shelter_in_the_b
razilia.html
www.eoearth.org/article/Curitiba,_Brazil