Cidade Canteiro: autoconstrução, mutirão e assessoria técnica em Fortaleza

Abstract

Brazilian cities are predominantly self-built. During the second half of the 20th century, the process of urbanization alongside industrialization intensifi ed exponentially, leading to substantial population growth in cities over the years. In this context, the state, which had started producing social housing through large housing complexes, could not meet the demand of the population in need of housing. With the subsequent increase in informal settlements and social pressures, the state turned to alternative policies aimed at the poorer population, utilizing the labor of the benefi ciary families through so-called mutual aid programs. In Fortaleza, this was no different. In the last decades of the 20th century, the capital of Ceará witnessed various mutual aid housing practices promoted by diverse agents. Amid the state’s withdrawal from housing production and the reduction of public investment, NGOs funded by national and international organizations began working within communities. This period saw the rise of politically engaged professional practices (Ferreira, 2017) in Fortaleza, which continue to infl uence the formation of new professional advisory bodies as well as university research and extension groups. Faced with the current reality of shrinking local housing policies, increasing poverty, and the growth of informal settlements and land occupations in the city, this dissertation begins with a theoretical-conceptual framework that gathers insights on the modes of production of the built environment and technical assistance in Brazil. Next, it presents a historical overview of programs and mutual aid production in Fortaleza, culminating in a discussion of results obtained from two case studies on different processes: the São Pedro Mutual Aid and Bom Sucesso Mutual Aid projects. The research aimed to understand how the involved agents acted, how the advisory process unfolded at the construction site, and the more recent post-occupancy conditions and self-built renovations.