Join The Academy of Urbanism and Henley Business School for a talk on Brazil’s housing programmes and their implications for the urban poor and future urban development, chaired by Kevin Murray, Chairman of The Academy of Urbanism

Prof. Eliane Monetti Department of Civil Construction, Escola Politécnica, University of São Paulo
Presentation: “Programme Minha Casa Minha Vida: Past, Present and Future Prospects”

This presentation will look at the programme Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House my Life) which was first implemented in 2009 to provide government-backed financing for the production of social housing in Brazil. The scheme is driven by the Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF), which is the federal savings bank of Brazil. The programme has completed the first stage which reached nearly 1 million between contracted and built units for low-income families. In keeping with the economic growth that the country is experiencing, the programme has been recently up-dated and began its second stage. This presentation will bring the latest data and changes/improvements to the programme with the aim of outlining its future prospects for private and public investment.

Bio: Prof. Eliane Monetti is a Civil Engineer with an MSc in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Civil Construction and Urban Engineering. She has over twenty years experience in teaching and researching Brazil’s real estate sector, working closely with most prominent developers of the country. She was the past president of the Latin American Real Estate Society (LARES) and is the current president of the International Real Estate Society (IRES).

Dr. Claudia Murray School of Real Estate and Planning, Henley Business School, University of Reading
Presentation: “Designing Favelas in São Paulo: Paraisópolis and Cantinho do Céu”

There are various programmes developing across Latin America that are currently trying to address issues posed by the informal land market. Broadly, the main approaches are a) legal regularisation of land titles, or b) urban regularisation of the settlement. The latter can be either the development of new dwellings, or improvements to the area in terms of services.

The examples presented here illustrate the two possibilities: Paraisópolis is an informal development whose settlers are being regularised through new dwellings, while Cantinho do Ceú has seen improvements to the area but not new dwellings. The presentation will explore the two case studies from the perspective of urban design and community participation in the design process.

Bio: Dr. Claudia Murray is an architect with an MA in Cultural Studies, an MSc in Real Estate and a PhD in Geography. She teaches and researches on issues of urban design, with particular interest in the economic value of good design as well as social and cultural implications of urban developments.

Dr Kayvan Karimi UCL Space Syntax
Presentation: Upgrading unplanned settlements in Jeddah

Please RSVP to Stephen Gallagher to confirm your attendance at this special event either by emailing sg@academyofurbanism.org.uk or by calling +44 (0) 20 7251 8777