Engenharia

User satisfaction has been studied extensively in social housing, but this has not had a significant impact on design factors in many cases. In recent years, such studies have included the assessment of values relating to design attributes. This paper presents a discussion on the concept of desired value in social housing, based on results of a study conducted in the region of the city of Campinas, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. End-users of four multi-family social housing projects, based on five storey walk-up apartment blocks were asked to identify aspects of housing design, which are most valued. The research method was based on the concept of stated preferences, where approximately 200 respondents organized a list of design attributes in order of their desired values. The investigation tool was based on the analogy of a deck of cards. Data was statistically analyzed and a general importance index was created for each of the value attributes. Results showed that security was the main preference aspect. Analysis of general results indicates a list of possible improvements to projects with regard to value delivery to end-users at little or no costs. To contribute towards a process of incremental improvements to social housing models in the State of São Paulo, the results of the case study can be applied by agents of the local housing provision system, in conjunction with a conceptual framework of data on housing quality indicators.

International theory and practice have promoted state-assisted upgrading of ‘informal’ urban areas worldwide since the late 1970s, with various forms of monitoring and assessment of impact. Two independent studies of how residents perceive and evaluate such interventions have recently been undertaken for neighbouring parts of the upgraded area of Novos Alagados on the Itapagipe peninsula in the northwestern part of Salvador, Brazil’s third largest city. These studies start from different premises and have been implemented in very different ways, but both have the objective of permitting the ‘voice’ of the residents to be heard concerning the upgrading process. Comparing them helps highlight the essential ‘fuzzy’ nature of values concerning urban interventions of this nature and leaves us with thoughtprovoking questions concerning the role of local society in relation to the state in urban development, and the potential this has for on-going forms of urban management in cities which are emerging globally.

Slum clearance and resettlement schemes have increasingly become a feature of everyday life in Brazil and the rest of the world. The right to decent housing can involve relocating slum families to places that not only fulfill the precepts of adequate housing but also enhance the self-respect and quality of life of these families. Resettlement can however also heighten their vulnerabilities. This article is the result of a study which sought to evaluate how the resettled residents of a housing complex had adapted to their new surroundings following their involuntary displacement from the slums “favelas” to a development with characteristics different from those commonly found in Brazilian social housing. The research method employed in our study used tools to collect the viewpoints of the different actors in the process, and to assess user satisfaction. The uncertainty measure was used to analyze the quantitative data. The results showed that (i) involuntary removal is not a determining factor in user satisfaction, and (ii) residents' satisfaction levels are more influenced by a number of positive factors, especially the location of the housing development and its associated services, facilities and opportunities that enhance their quality of life, than by any drawbacks arising from their forced removal from the “favelas”. However, issues such as condominium management, buildings maintenance and higher costs may risk undermining the benefits of the project.

The housing shortage in Brazil, which is currently estimated at 5.5 million units, is the constant subject of architectural and urbanistic studies. The theoretical affiliations and methodological tools used in these studies are diverse and, as befits the complexity of the issues involved, utilise ideologies and methods from several fields—even antagonistic ideologies and methods. In Brazil, there is a consensus on the need to reorganise cities, in which approximately 84% of the population lives, through strategies that address the relationship between social housing and urban density. This need exists primarily in major metropolises, where rapid and abstruse growth overcomes collective and sustainable practices. This paper analyzes the relationship between urban policies and social housing in the redevelopment process occurring in the central area of São Paulo. It focuses on transformations that occurred during the beginning of the 21st century, a period when Brazil was prominent in terms of economic growth in the international arena. As a case study, it focuses on the Habitasampa architectural competition, which is considered to be one of the most innovative and important contests during this period. This analysis of the winning Habitasampa project designs, in terms of their theoretical and political frameworks, will help create new methodological guidelines for the preparation of urban plans and policies related to social housing in dense urban areas.

The building sector has a significant environmental impact and environmental rating systems could indicate some guidelines for achieving sustainable developments. There are several systems, but the certifications in general are adjusted to peculiar conditions of developing countries. The Brazilian bank Caixa Economica Federal created and is responsible to assign the Selo Casa Azul (“Blue House Seal”). This certification is apparently the most applicable to Brazilian conditions. However, there are few studies about the procedures for analysis of housing projects. The aim of this study is to analyse the adequacy of typical housing developments with respect to Selo Casa Azul criteria by verifying existing facilities and considering the limitations of real projects. This research analyses 13 developments certified by the bank and seven new projects in Caxias do Sul, a city in southern Brazil. As a result, we found that the Selo Casa Azul constitutes a viable tool, demonstrating the relative ease of application. We verify that some criteria were not present in any of these projects and that alignment with Selo's criteria depends on a company's strategy, no matter the economic standard of its buildings. Lastly, we observe that most actions needed to reach unsatisfied criteria may be solved in the design stage, and these modifications do not require large investments. This study aims to contribute to the discussion about sustainable construction in Brazil.

The challenges inherent to urbanization, such as the densification of peripheral locations, promote precarious urban scenarios with several deficiencies in infrastructure and habitability, where neighbourhoods are formed without planning guidelines as in the vast majority of Brazilian cities. Given this scenario, how can these neighbourhoods become more sustainable? While cities strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda, some issues are not often discussed at the local level or with community participation. The objective of this study is to present and analyse the opinion of citizens regarding urban sustainability issues, focusing on a neighbourhood level. Exploratory descriptive research was developed, contemplating 42 questions based on assessment tools were presented to participants in order to determine their degree of agreement or disagreement with each statement using a five-point Likert scale. The dataset was subjected to principal component analysis to verify which indicators contribute most to sustainability from the perspective of the community. The results demonstrate synergy between observed urban problems and positive opinions of respondents, with emphasis on urban infrastructure, social well-being, education, security and urban space. The arguments extracted from this research aim to inform the development of an evaluation structure for existing peripheral neighbourhoods, applied to medium-sized cities in southern Brazil, based on the opinions of residents.

Innovations in Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) can better connect circular economy (CE) and climate change (CC) since they have many trade-offs, especially in developing countries. Studies report the main barriers to innovation in MSWM that constrain a more circular economy (CE) and climate responses, but little is known about possible paths for innovation. Thus, this article aims to identify the main enablers of innovations in MSWM. Four municipalities in Brazil were selected because they presented highly innovative actions in the MSWM that reduced trade-offs between CE and CC. Based on an analysis of the economic, environmental, and operational performance of the four MSWM, we found reductions in Greenhouse Gases (GHG - CO2eq per inhabitant) of up to 90% and lower waste management costs per inhabitant compared to the national average. Four main enablers made the innovations possible to accelerate the transitions to a more circular and low-carbon economy in municipalities: local capacity, intergovernmental collaboration, MSWM with local partners, and environmental education that promotes social participation. This research contributed to developing a method to identify enablers at various system levels and propose technological approaches and practices that enable innovation in MSW management. Such measures can serve as a subsidy for circular disruption and as a basis for intervention in MSWM, especially in developing countries.

This research addresses accessibility inequalities within the context of a major Latin American metropolis, using a longitudinal analysis focused on the low-income population. Emphasizing the paradigm of sustainable accessibility planning, the study examines the evolution of job accessibility over two 15-year-apart timeframes in Fortaleza, the 4th most populous Brazilian city. The findings reveal persistent spatial mismatch and unsustainable changes in land-use patterns, highlighting ongoing challenges for low-income vulnerable groups. Despite overall improvements in accessibility, inequality patterns endure, particularly affecting those relying on public transport. The study underscores the necessity for planning processes in developing countries to address the complex causes and consequences associated with accessibility inequalities. Recommendations include a deeper exploration of differences among precarious settlements, considering population density variations, central location impact, and inequalities in job accessibility between self-built and state-constructed settlements.