{"id":33041,"date":"2017-01-03T15:09:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-03T18:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=33041"},"modified":"2018-01-15T13:10:28","modified_gmt":"2018-01-15T16:10:28","slug":"housing-policy-lessons-from-rios-favelas-part-5-proposing-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=33041","title":{"rendered":"Housing Policy Lessons from Rio’s Favelas Part 5: Proposing Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

This is the fifth\u00a0in a five-part series titled Housing Policy Lessons from Rio\u2019s Favelas<\/a>. We hope this series will inform debates on housing and favela upgrading and that Rio\u2019s new\u00a0mayor, Marcelo Crivella, will design policies that address the challenges favelas face while recognizing and strengthening their attributes, by actively engaging with residents in policy design and implementation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lesson 10: Policy solutions should be sourced in Rio’s favelas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Through understanding the needs and experiences of favela communities, it is possible to come up with solutions<\/a> for housing policy based on these\u00a0communities’ lived experiences, rather than imposing\u00a0top-down solutions, which inevitably fail due to their lack of grounding\u00a0in the actual lives and needs of residents. This final article in the series<\/a>\u00a0describes policy ideas that emerged from speaking to residents in over 15 communities and academic institutions across\u00a0Rio. They represent a fraction of the multitude of\u00a0ideas that can emerge from listening to the voices of\u00a0those who experience policy impacts on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

1. Provide technical help, building materials and loans to favela\u00a0communities as they build their homes<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One common complaint among\u00a0residents of hillside favelas\u00a0was the challenge\u00a0of getting building materials up steep hills. Others complained of their initial lack of technical expertise that led them to rebuild their homes more than once, as they learned through doing. In all favelas, one hears stories of how many years, often generations, it took to build, and re-build, a home to get it to where it is now. Residents who have been successful<\/a> speak of this experience with tremendous pride, while those who struggle over decades<\/a> and are unable to dramatically improve their living conditions may suffer endlessly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While part of supporting communities should\u00a0be implementing parameters that prevent unsafe building and building in precarious “areas of risk<\/a>,” this risk is usually overstated<\/a> in Rio. Rather, in consolidated favelas, where communities have become established and valuable assets built up<\/a>, the policy focus should be on providing technical support, building materials and loans to allow residents to complete their homes and bring them up to standard. In the 1960s, a municipal program provided engineering assistance and materials<\/a> to residents who built their own homes. More recently, the\u00a0underfunded and marginalized POUSO<\/a>, or Urbanistic and Social Orientation Posts, were a popular policy that provided much-needed technical support.<\/p>\n

Residents of informal communities also have a difficult time accessing\u00a0credit<\/a> to build or improve their homes. A policy of providing\u00a0small-scale low-interest loans\u00a0to residents who wish to invest in homes\u00a0and a streamlined channel to buy inexpensive building materials, or subsidized materials, should be considered. This could be done by creating contracts with local material stores, for example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there should be a\u00a0government program to assist with engineering and construction because every house that is going to be built\u00a0needs the basics<\/a>. You have to have a professional helping to do this.\u201d \u2013 Cabritos<\/a>, South Zone<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cSometimes the city comes here with technical help and the resident has the more specialized eye. You have to have this partnering of institutions. The team that did Rio+Social [before it was dismantled] was sensational. They did really good work that documented\u00a0all the needs\u00a0here. It worked really well because the engineer was part of many institutions. They had meetings with the people to assess\u00a0the needs.\u201d \u2013 City of God<\/a>, West Zone<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Learn from effective high-participation programs such as\u00a0Minha Casa Minha Vida-Entidades
\n<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Rio\u2019s new housing policies must specify and guarantee\u00a0mechanisms for extensive\u00a0participation<\/a>. Inspiration should be taken from the\u00a0self-built public housing projects<\/a> associated with the\u00a0Minha Casa Minha Vida-Entidades program (MCMV-En)<\/a>, one of few examples to date in Rio de Janeiro of full citizen control<\/a> over the planning process.<\/p>\n

\u201cRio\u2019s city government is very closed off to participation. It, at minimum, has to install and update\u00a0the neighborhood councils across\u00a0the city. No urban intervention can be implemented without effective participation from the communities. This is consecrated in the Statute of the City. I am not talking about anything that is not in the law.\u201d \u2013 Rio de Janeiro Federal University\u2019s Institute of Urban and Regional Planning Research (UFRJ\/IPPUR)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

3. Design favela zoning laws that protect affordability<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Favelas are Rio\u2019s affordable housing stock<\/a>\u00a0and, without sufficient non-favela affordable housing to meet the city’s affordable housing needs, must be protected<\/a> as such through zoning, or else, as speculation<\/a> is introduced, new, precarious favelas, will form elsewhere<\/a>. An example would be\u00a0zoning for small lots and the exclusion of large-scale commercial activities, or properly implementing Brazil’s\u00a0Areas of Special Social Interest<\/a> legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen legislation prohibits large lots and prohibits commercial or residential use at a high level, what is it doing? It is protecting the residents. It then isolates the area a bit from the market. This can be a barrier that inhibits\u00a0gentrification.\u201d \u2013\u00a0UFRJ\/IPPUR<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBy law, these are Areas of Special Social Interest. They should have an upgrading\u00a0plan that is defined in the Master Plan of Rio de Janeiro\u2013an occupation use law discussed by the community. None of the favelas have this, not one of them.\u201d \u2013 UFRJ IPURR<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Rocinha\"<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Implement comprehensive city-wide\u00a0favela\u00a0upgrading<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The city must prioritize upgrading<\/a>\u00a0as opposed to removals<\/a>. Globally now, common sense urban policy, vis-\u00e0-vis<\/em> the\u00a0New Urban Agenda<\/a>, prioritizes upgrading. Brazilian law<\/a>, the nation’s urban planning professionals<\/a>, and Rio’s politicians themselves, who in the 1990s instituted the world’s first large-scale favela upgrading program<\/a>, have concluded this for decades. Yet this message has been left behind by policy-makers in Rio since 2008 when Favela-Bairro was completed<\/a> and given its successor, the much-heralded Morar Carioca program<\/a>, was abandoned<\/a> and effectively dismantled<\/a> by Rio Olympic Mayor Eduardo Paes<\/a> (2008-2016). This means that for nearly ten years Rio has experienced no policy of comprehensive favela upgrading. It is time to return to such a policy, in the form of Morar Carioca or an improved version.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The ideal] would be to have an upgrading policy\u00a0for everything, to reinforce the houses that already exist. That way the structure of the favela would be upgraded.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Rocinha<\/a>, South Zone<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou have to look at both sides. You have to create new homes to address\u00a0the deficit. And on the other hand, you have to improve the housing that already exists to overcome the problem of inadequate housing.\u201d \u2013 UFRJ\/IPPUR<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

5. Adapt the implementation of federal housing program Minha Casa Minha Vida to include better design, prioritize central\u00a0areas, and not use the program for victims of forced eviction<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Since the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV)<\/a> federal housing program is decentralized, the city of Rio has leeway to adapt the policy in ways that fit the needs of the city. It must drastically readapt the to-date poorly implemented\u00a0program<\/a> to better integrate public housing<\/a> units into the city\u2019s urban fabric and take inspiration from the positive qualities<\/a> found in Rio’s favelas. On a technical level, this could involve providing housing that can be easily\u00a0adapted<\/a>\u00a0by residents to suit their needs, ensure public spaces and the ability to hold events and organize collectively to build community, locate housing with\u00a0better access to hospitals, employment\u00a0and schools. Public housing units are often too small, at 36m2. For an average sized family, the appropriate size for a public housing unit should be around 100m2 to fit a family of 4-5.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program should be designed so that it favors not just large scale housing construction, but quality housing. That is to say, housing that is adequate for the needs of the diverse population, not\u00a0large, monotonous or repetitive projects.\u201d \u2013 UFRJ\/IPPUR<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Importance<\/a><\/p>\n

6. Ensure that important services like health, education, transport, leisure and sanitation are mandated to accompany any housing policy as well as robust participation measures<\/strong><\/h4>\n

A primary problem many favela residents described was not about housing quality, but rather the rest of the built environment they depend on. Since most of a typical resident’s salary goes into improving one’s\u00a0home environment, it is often the public infrastructure in and around favelas that most needs investment. Whether in public housing planning or favela upgrading, policies must emphasize\u00a0the integration of all urban services into program design. Sewerage<\/a>, education<\/a>, and health<\/a> infrastructure are consistently those services deemed most inadequate and consequently most in-demand by favela residents at public meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst, I think you have to put more services. It doesn\u2019t work to have the intention of putting in housing without putting in services. Today, for example, we have a health post in City of God that does not attend to\u00a0the entire favela. We need\u00a0public policies that are more collective and that listen to the voice of the population.\u201d \u2013 City of God, West Zone<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

7. Offer collective titling as an option for communities that want added protection and have strong community institutions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Community Land Trust<\/a>\u00a0(CLT) model could be a great option to explore for those favelas where residents\u00a0are more interested in guaranteeing their collective assets and with land security, than with individual residents’ ability to speculate.<\/p>\n

\u201cCLTs<\/a> can be very good as long as they are negotiated internally. They cannot be imposed from the outside in because this would not work. They have to be negotiated between residents who have to have information about the advantages and disadvantages of each type of title. CLTs\u00a0can protect the resident more and can make internal organizations stronger.\u201d \u2013 UFRJ\/IPPUR<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

Full Series:\u00a0Housing Policy Lessons from Rio\u2019s Favelas<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n

Part 1: Construction and Community<\/a>
\nPart 2: Collective Action and Diverse Needs<\/a>
\nPart 3: Distrust, Gentrification and Titling<\/a>
\nPart 4: Public Housing<\/a>
\nPart 5: Proposing Solutions<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas This is the fifth\u00a0in a five-part series titled Housing Policy Lessons from Rio\u2019s Favelas. We hope this series will inform debates on housing and favela upgrading and that Rio\u2019s new\u00a0mayor, Marcelo […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":33318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1854,1668,1288,1271,335,1282,329,1329],"tags":[1720,435,220,282,1375,26,936,1071,157,152,725,210,301,10,2634,2268,1403,206],"writer":[1732],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-33041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-housingwatch","8":"category-participationwatch","9":"category-highlight","10":"category-favelaqualities","11":"category-policies","12":"category-research-analysis","13":"category-solutions","14":"category-by-international-observers","15":"tag-affordable-housing","16":"tag-community-land-trust","17":"tag-construction","18":"tag-housing","19":"tag-housing-deficit","20":"tag-housing-rights","21":"tag-land-titling","22":"tag-minha-casa-minha-vida-entidades","23":"tag-minha-casa-minha-vida","24":"tag-participation","25":"tag-policy-recommendation","26":"tag-public-housing","27":"tag-public-policy","28":"tag-real-estate-speculation","29":"tag-series","30":"tag-series-housing-policy-lessons","31":"tag-solution","32":"tag-upgrading","33":"writer-david-robertson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33041"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=33041"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=33041"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=33041"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=33041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}