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Social housing for citizens in the 21st Century

Economic stability in Brazil in the 1990s changed the consumption profile of the residents of the Social Housing (Habitações de Interesse Social - HIS) sponsored in Porto Alegre (RS) by the municipal government. Thus, the chair of the Architecture and Industrialization Research Group, Professor Mario dos Santos Ferreira, established as an initial assumption that such dwellings exhibited insufficient space and installations for the novel technologies and domestic appliances to which the population currently has access. Consequently, a project to identify the new functions and requirements of Social Housing for the 21st Century (HIS 21) was launched to revise the notion behind such an undertaking and to suggest appropriate solutions for the novel socio-economic and cultural conditions of the users.

Supported by the Foundation for Research Support of Rio Grande do Sul state (Fapergs), research began in 2011 when 140 families, residing in four housing projects in the State capital as indicated by the Housing Department of the municipal government (DEMHAB), were surveyed. Interviews, photographs, and observations recorded in spreadsheets allowed an understanding of the incompatibility between the buildings and the actual requirements of the residents.

That survey was conducted by post-occupancy evaluation (POE) techniques and allowed us to identify the actual number of residents, their age ranges, family incomes, the modalities of occupancy, and use of the effectively verified spaces. Thus, we could understand the domestic appliances, electronic devices, and furniture purchased by this population.

Because the statistical analysis of the data was completed, a new program to establish the requirements in HIS is planned. This new program will assess the appropriateness of the area and installations of the dwellings as a function of the identified requirements. Simultaneously, the group aims to compare the Brazilian HIS with the models developed by other Latin American countries.