Abstract
Access to serviced urban land and housing is a historical challenge for the poor. One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to mitigate the growth of slums, thus ensuring access to housing and improving living conditions of slum dwellers. Hence, these areas are within the scope of global development agendas and have been the target of policies and actions that work in several directions, trying to produce solutions to the many socioeconomic constraints that affect the daily lives of slum residents and homeless people. Likewise, science and the production of technologies adapted to the various and very different contexts of poverty and deprivation have had a vital role in producing effective answers to the problem. However, initiatives of all kinds have had restricted achievement. The 2010 report on the MDGs recognizes that progress made with the slum target has not been sufficient to offset growth of informal settlements in the developing world and “redoubled efforts will be needed to improve the lives of the growing numbers of urban poor in cities and metropolises across the developing world” (UN MDG Report 2010: 62).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
The report shows that in absolute numbers, the proportion of urban populations living in slums increased from 33% to 46% between 1990 and 2010 (UN MDG Report 2010).
- 2.
There is one main criticism concerning the measurement of informal housing adopted by the IBGE, which considers only settlements comprising more than 50 households. In the case of São Paulo, for example, surveys compiled in 1987 and 1993 respectively showed that 21.9% and 21.2% of the population lived in squatter settlements with fewer than 51 households and were not considered by the census. (Taschner 2003). Reassessment of the 2000 national census was made by the Centre of the Metropolis on request from the Ministry of the City and revealed that the estimated population living in precarious conditions reaches the double found by the national census, which was 6.3 million (Marques 2007).
- 3.
In Brazil, the INFOSOLO-Network, developed the research project called Mercado informal e o acesso dos pobres ao solo—(Informal real estate and access to housing for the poor), which gathered together research teams from eight metropolitan regions. The sample comprised slum residents who had moved into the settlement within the 6 months preceding the field work, either by purchasing or renting a dwelling, and those who intended to sell their properties at the time of the survey. The results draw on data gathered from more than 50 different informal settlements, where around 3,500 dwellers were interviewed. The INFOSOLO reports on the eight metropolitan areas are available on www.habitare.com.br.
- 4.
Such dynamics cast doubt on the dominant urban growth model prevalent until the 1980s, which was based on extensive land occupation towards peripheral areas and uncontrolled development of the cities. Statistic data from many Latin American countries reveals that in the last two decades, population growth rates in peripheral areas were on the decline while population numbers were increasing in the central districts of several cities (Harms 1997: 193).
- 5.
Brazilian minimum wage was US$ 90 during the period in question.
- 6.
This aspect has been particularly discussed in several areas of the literature on poverty and informality (Gutiérrez 2005; Friedmann 1996) and in the studies of social capital (Bourdieu 1980, 1986). An important contribution to the discussion is brought by Bayat’s “quiet encroachment” describing “the silent, protracted, but pervasive advancement of ordinary people in relation to the propertied and powerful in order to survive and improve their lives” (Bayat 2004: 90). In Bolay et al. (2007, 1996), several case studies in Latin America evidence the inventive capacity of the urban poor and the role they play themselves in fighting and mitigating poverty, very often benefiting from their social networks.
- 7.
Federal Law 10.257 which aims to regulate the chapter on urban policy founded by the 1988 Constitution. The Statute of the City assigned to municipal governments advocates the implementation of participatory master plans, defining a set of tools to stamp out real estate and land speculation and promote the regularization of slums. The Statute transformed the character of urban policy in Brazil by subordinating property rights to collective interests (The Statute of the City, available on line: www.polis.org.br/obras/arquivo_163.pdf).
- 8.
The Statute of the City, available on line: www.polis.org.br/obras/arquivo_163.pdf.
References
Abramo, P. (2003). Teoria Econômica da Favela. Quatro notas sobre a localização residencial dos pobres e o mercado imobiliário informal. In P. Abramo (Ed.), A cidade da informalidade. O desafio das cidades latino-americanas (pp. 189–223). Rio de Janeiro: Sette Letras/FAPERJ.
Abramo, P. (2007). Características Estruturais dos Mercados Informais de Solo na América Latina: Formas de Funcionamento. Annals XII ENANPUR. Belem, May.
Abramo, P. (2009a). O mercado informal de solo em favelas e a mobilidade residencial dos pobres nas grandes cidades: um marco metodológico. In P. Abramo (Ed.), Favela e Mercado Informal: a nova porta de entrada dos pobres nas cidades brasileiras (pp. 15–47). Porto Alegre: Habitare/Finep.
Abramo, P. (2009b). A cidade COM-FUSA: o mercado informal em favelas e a produção da estrutura urbana nas grandes metrópoles latino-americanas. In P. Abramo (Ed.), Favela e Mercado Informal: a nova porta de entrada dos pobres nas cidades brasileiras (pp. 49–79). Porto Alegre: Habitare/Finep.
Abramo, P., & Pulicci, A. (2009). Vende-se uma casa: o mercado imobiliário informal nas favelas do Rio de Janeiro. In P. Abramo (Ed.), Favela e Mercado Informal: a nova porta de entrada dos pobres nas cidades brasileiras (pp. 200–224). Porto Alegre: Habitare/Finep.
Azuela, A., & Duhau, E. (1998). Tenure regularization, private property and public order in Mexico. In E. Fernandes & A. Varley (Eds.), Illegal cities: Law and urban change in developing countries (pp. 157–170). London: Zed Books.
Bayat, A. (2004). Globalization and the politics of the informals in the Global South. In A. Roy & N. Alsayyad (Eds.), Urban informality, transnational perspectives from the Middle East, Latin America and South Africa. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Bolay, J.-C., Pedrazzini, Y., & Bassand, M. (1996). Habitat créatif, éloge des faiseurs de ville: habitants et architectes d’Amérique Latine et d’Europe. Paris: Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer pour le progrès de l’homme (FPH).
Bolay, J.-C., Guerra, E. C., & Echeverria, A., (2007). Pauvreté urbaine: des stratégies communautaires pour faire face à “la fatalité d’être pauvre”. In J.-C. Bolay & F. Lieberherr (Eds.), La pauvreté urbaine: un défi mondial (Cahiers de la Coopération, No 5). Lausanne: EPFL.
Bonduki, N. (2002). Origens da habitação social no Brasil. São Paulo: Estação Liberdade.
Bourdieu, P. (1980). Le capital social: Notes provisoires. Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales, 31, 2–3.
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education. New York: Greenwood Press.
Davis, M. (2006). Planeta Favelas. São Paulo: Boitempo.
Fernandes, E. (2003). Legalização de Favelas em Belo Horizonte: um novo capítulo na História? In E. Fernandes & B. Alfonsin (Eds.), A Lei e a ilegalidade na produção do espaço urbano (pp. 172–212). Belo Horizonte: Del Rey.
Friedmann, J. (1996). Rethinking poverty: Empowerment and citizen rights. International Social Science Journal, 48(148), 161–172.
Gilbert, A. (1993). In search of a home: Rental and shared housing in Latin America. London: UCL Press.
Gilbert, A. (2008). Slums, tenants and homeownership: On blindness to the obvious. International Development Planning Review, 30(2), 01–10.
Gulyani, S., & Talukdar, D. (2008). Slum real estate: The low-quality high-price puzzle in Nairobi’s slum rental market and its implications for theory and practice. World Development, 36(10), 1916–1937.
Gurney, G. M. (1999). Lowering the drawbridge: A case study of analogy and metaphor in the social construction of home-ownership. Urban Studies, 36(10), 1705–1722.
Gutiérrez, A. (2005). Estratégias, capitais e redes: elementos para a análise da pobreza urbana. In A. D. Cattani & L. Diaz (Eds.), Desigualdades na América Latina: novas perspectivas analíticas. Porto Alegre: UFRGS.
Harms, H. (1997). To live in the city centre: Housing and tenants in central neighbourhoods of Latin Americans cities. Environment and Urbanization, 9(2), 191–212.
IBGE. (2000). Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics 2010. National Census, IBGE Brazil, 2010
INFOSOLO-UFSC. (2006). Mercados Informais de Solo Urbano nas cidades brasileiras e acesso dos pobres ao solo (Final Report). Florianopolis: Federal University of Santa Catarina.
Krueckeberg, D. A. (2004). The lessons of John Locke or Hernando de Soto: What if your dreams come true? Housing Policy Debate, 15(01), 01–24.
Kumar, S. (2001). Social relations, rental housing markets & the poor in urban India (Final Report). London: London School of Economics & Political Science.
Lacerda, N., & Melo, J. M. (2009). Mercado imobiliário informal de habitação na Região Metropolitana do Recife. In P. Abramo (Ed.), Favela e Mercado Informal: a nova porta de entrada dos pobres nas cidades brasileiras (pp. 112–138). Porto Alegre: Habitare/Finep.
Lonardoni, F. M. (2007). Aluguel, Informalidade e Pobreza: o acesso à moradia em Florianópolis. MSc thesis, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil.
Maricato, E. (1995). Metrópole na periferia do capitalismo. São Paulo: Hucitec.
Maricato, E. (2006). Housing and cities in Brazil and Latin America: Globalization, poverty and some reasons for hope. Resource document. Housing laboratory USP, São Paulo. http://www.usp.br/fau/depprojeto/labhab/biblioteca/textos/maricato_housingcitiesbrazil.pdf. Accessed June 25, 2009.
Marques, E. C. (2007). Assentamentos precários no Brasil urbano. Brasília: Centro de Estudos da Metrópole e Ministério das Cidades.
Payne, G. (1997). Urban land tenure and property rights in developing countries: A review. London: Intermediate Technology.
Shlay, A. B. (2006). Low-income homeownership: American dream or delusion? Urban Studies, 43(03), 511–531.
Smolka, M. (2003). Regularização da ocupação do solo urbano: a solução que é parte do problema, o problema que é parte da solução. In P. Abramo (Ed.), A cidade da informalidade. O desafio das cidades latino-americanas (pp. 119–138). Rio de Janeiro: Sette Letras/FAPERJ.
Taschner, S. (2003). O Brasil e suas favelas. In P. Abramo (Ed.), A cidade da informalidade. O desafio das cidades latino-americanas (pp. 13–42). Rio de Janeiro: Sette Letras/FAPERJ.
UN MDG Report. (2010). The millennium development goals report. New York: United Nations.
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements—Habitat [UNCHS]. (1996). An urbanizing world: Global report on human settlements 1996. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
United Nations Centre for Human Settlements—Habitat [UN-Habitat]. (2003). Rental housing: An essential option for the urban poor in developing countries. Nairobi: United Nations.
Valladares, L. (1988). Urban sociology in Brazil: A research report. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 12(2), 285–303.
Zaluar, A., & Alvito, M. (2006). Um Século de Favela. Rio de Janeiro: Editora FGV.
Zetter, R., & Souza, F. (2004). Urban land tenure in Brazil: From centralized state to market processes of housing land delivery. In R. Zetter & M. Hamza (Eds.), Market economy and urban change (pp. 163–184). London: Earthscan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Paris
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Lonardoni, F.M. (2012). Informality of Housing Production: Rental Markets in Favelas and the Challenges for Land Regularization in Brazil. In: Bolay, JC., Schmid, M., Tejada, G., Hazboun, E. (eds) Technologies and Innovations for Development. Springer, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0268-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-2-8178-0268-8_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Paris
Print ISBN: 978-2-8178-0267-1
Online ISBN: 978-2-8178-0268-8
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)