Research

Collective Ownership: The Evolution of Social Housing and New Horizons for Access to Housing in Rio Grande do Sul

It is estimated that almost half of the Brazilian population does not have access to housing through the formal property market. This points to the need to create and reformulate ways of accessing housing and the city. One instrument from this perspective is collective ownership. The model is based on separating use value from market value in both land and buildings. In essence, it removes housing from the speculative property market and, considering that housing costs are rooted first of all in land costs, can improve affordability and reduce investment costs in housing. The research is therefore justified by the need for alternatives to housing access that go beyond individual titling and segregated production, seeking to understand new social models grounded in possible land and housing titling policies and to offer a new perspective on how cities are built. Although the model is well established in the United States, it is important to assess its viability in the Brazilian context. In Brazil, this model has largely been confined to Rio de Janeiro, which makes regional conceptualisation important for broadening its possibilities. The study therefore asks how Rio Grande do Sul could develop collective-ownership policies and planning as a housing and land-policy instrument. If revisiting the literature can help untie knots that still constitute challenges, the study of collective ownership may open new pathways towards social justice by addressing the “knots” of land. The research assumes that this model may contribute, nationally and in Rio Grande do Sul, to guaranteeing access to housing and security of tenure, while encouraging cooperation and creating a fairer, less financialised housing circuit. The study aims to analyse housing policies and collective ownership as a means of accessing housing and its prospects for the state. It is an exploratory, qualitative study that develops a broad view through bibliographical and historical research, documentary and legislative analysis, a reference case study and local analysis, guided by historical-dialectical materialism.

Members: Alexandre Kramatschek Tavares — Member / Inês Martina Lersch — Coordinator.

Ecovillage and Hyperadobe for Social Housing Architecture

The project aims to develop a theoretical understanding of the production of space and bioconstruction, alongside mechanical and comfort tests, in order to propose hyperadobe housing types that form part of a permaculture ecovillage for social housing in Santiago/RS and the surrounding region. It also seeks to extend the research towards the effective construction of the ecovillage by the municipal government, with the aim of improving the quality of social-housing production and supporting the constitutional right to adequate housing in line with the sustainability objectives of international climate agreements.

Members: Alexandre Kramatschek Tavares — Member / Vitor Tassinari Vanti — Member / Edmar Pereira Fabrício — Coordinator.

Funder(s): Universidade Regional Integrada do Alto Uruguai e das Missões — Financial support.