A busca pela moradia adequada e a reabilitação de imóveis vazios ou subutilizados em áreas urbanas centrais de Fortaleza

Abstract

The right to housing constitutes the foundational framework that enables access to other fundamental social rights, such as health, education, employment, security, and leisure, being an essential element for the realization of human dignity. However, despite the historical struggles that led to the recognition of this right in the legal framework, grounded in the Democratic and Social State of Law, the reality of urban life, represented by the high housing deficit, is in stark dissonance with the current legal system. This gap is due to a set of factors, including the urbanization process of Brazilian cities marked by socio-spatial segregation, with the prominent role of the real estate market and private capital as agents of urban segregation. This is further exacerbated by decades of housing programs focusing on housing provision following the same exclusionary logic. Thus, the current housing demand scenario in Brazil is characterized by a large number of unattended families living in precarious and socially and legally irregular conditions. Paradoxically, in major cities, there is a significant stock of vacant or underutilized properties, especially in central areas, resulting from the phenomenon of urban sprawl, with the emergence of new, more peripheral centralities. This has led to the emptiness, abandonment, and degradation of traditional and historical central areas and their built heritage. As a result of this substantial stock of properties not fulfilling their social function, building rehabilitation in Brazil has been a prominent topic, influenced by international trends and national experiences. Within the field of architectural studies, retrofit intervention has emerged as a solution to the current scenario of obsolete infrastructures and outdated facilities by updating buildings to meet new needs. To explore this, adopting bibliographic research methodology involving the analysis of books, theses, dissertations, monographs, and scientific articles, as well as legislation, programs, and plans related to the aforementioned themes, the topic is contextualized globally. Subsequently, there is an exploration at the national level, including a critical review of social housing programs from 1930 to the present day. Finally, a local analysis is conducted for the city of Fortaleza, which has significant studies and diagnoses regarding the rehabilitation of the central area for social housing but has not yet been implemented. Thus, the aim is to understand, contribute to, and promote, as a complementary alternative to existing public policies, the rehabilitation of vacant or underutilized property stocks through retrofit intervention in central areas as a measure to address the housing deficit with access to adequate housing.