Lack of adaptability in Brazilian social housing: impacts on residents

Abstract

Brazilian social housing is used to address the country’s housing deficit through government programs with the massive production of standardised affordable housing. This non-systemic approach is shown to neglect residents’ changing needs over time and results in inflexible housing in relation to environmental, constructive, and social issues. The use of inappropriate spatial patterns fails to account for residents’ current socioeconomic and spatial realities. Quantitative/qualitative methods involving residents (<em>n</em> = 162) and two case studies are used to assess resilience in social housing. The costs and implications arising from a lack of housing adaptability are identified. An ‘impact assessment’ tool is employed to document the shocks and tensions experienced by residents along with the negative effects on the house and its occupants. These impacts increase the vulnerability of families and hinder their adaptive capacity. The identification of major impacts and residents’ perceptions can be used to establish priorities for action. <em><strong>Policy relevance</strong></em> Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) processes provide a more systemic approach to identifying and resolving the problems of creating housing fit for purpose. An impact evaluation tool was developed to help with a positive transformation. This indicates how architects, urban planners, and communities can act to mitigate and solve the problems experienced by users of social housing. The use of systemic POE in social housing can inform policies and planning practices that address the needs of residents. It is also intended to provide design information to agents involved in the production of social housing in Brazil, notably designers and users, in order to foster effective strategies to promote more resilient housing, especially in scenarios of intervention and renovations during use. These tools and processes contribute to fulfilling Habitat III’s New Urban Agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 1, 10, and 11).