New Housing Policies in Brazil: Changes and Challenges

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a research conducted on the urban insertion conditions of the project of the Program Minha Casa Minha Vida (PMCMV) in the metropolitan area of Fortaleza. Analyses were made in Fortaleza, Maracanaú and Caucaia, municipalities that concentrate most of the contracts approved by the end of 2012. As methodological procedures we may highlight interviews with the agents involved, field--‐works in the areas where the condominiums are located, application of questionnaires to residents in order to detect the impacts with the beneficiaries. Case studies were carried out concerning the analysis of the insertion conditions for representative situations of the RMF reality considering: the intensity and the pattern of land use, urban morphology, equipment proximity, access to infrastructure and mobility conditions. The analysis of institutional arrangements reveals the concentration of power on the part of lenders and builders, as well as the weakness of local government and the decoupling of urban and housing policies. Dynamics were detected that signal the segregation process, which affects families benefited from the program. It was made evident the denial of the right to the city, given the difficulties in access to infrastructure networks and social facilities, as well as problems related to their peripheral location and a set of phenomena that reveal the mono functionality of the spaces where they are located. Finally, it suggests some recommendations in order to improve the program's implementation conditions aimed at ensuring better living conditions to beneficiaries.