Live-work Tactics in the Suburban House and their Effects on Public Spaces in the Peripheral Neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Housing production in Brazil continues, for the most part, to be tied to the mono-functional paradigm. Social housing developments, gated communities and new neighbourhoods are conceived according to modern, functional zoning logic. However, in reality, the Brazilian way of life subverts this logic where its expression produces urban spaces that don’t correspond to what is originally planned or imposed by regulation. This paper presents the outcomes of an investigation conducted on suburban houses in Rio de Janeiro, which have been informally transformed to accommodate multiple activities ranging from living areas to workspaces. Vast areas of lots generally occupied by single-family houses characterise the low-income suburbs of Rio. In these areas, the pressing need families face to increase their income, a need associated with the general lack of infrastructure — including local commerce and facilities — fosters the development of informal economies, which in turn transforms the built environment and effecting the public space. A fragment of one of these peripheral neighbourhoods is analysed in this paper through the mapping of commercial and professional activities that take place in single-family houses. The urban environment of streets in which these kinds of activities are taking place is compared with neighbouring streets in which no such activities are apparent. The investigation consists of a consideration of the social and spatial effects of informal practices occurring within the formal city. The suburban houses are analysed as privileged spaces in which the local way of life can be observed and acknowledged as being intrinsic to a specific social and economic reality. Both spatial and building solutions are thereby recognised as valuable lessons which urge practitioners to consider alternatives to the way in which housing projects and city planning have been previously defined.