Favelas and the normative, institutional Social Housing System in Brazil

Abstract

Most of today’s Brazilian Social Housing Institutional complexes are standardized mass buildings. They are planned in the periphery of cities, have no connection to public transportation systems and are disconnected from their respective local context. The planning approach to housing is compliant with ‘state simpli cation models’ which turn a blind eye from the dynamics of the informal sector. This unprecedented study demonstrates that the polarization between institutional planning and the changing needs of society continues to expose the vast inequalities between social classes. This is analysed through a historic study of the Brazilian working class system and its development over recent years. The study compares two very distinct scenarios: on one hand, social housing conceived by traditional stakeholders, institutions and real estate agencies seems to follow a disciplinary approach and segment the life of privileged workers/formal workers. On the other hand, less privileged workers are allowed to freely build their own housing. Thus, this article traces a -binary interrelation between planning for the privileged and for the unprivileged, explaining how favelas became a legitimate form of mass housing in Brazil.