Under the Shadow of Brazil National Housing Bank (BNH)

the new housing policy in Fortaleza-CE (2005-2011)

Abstract

This article discusses the actions of Fortaleza’s Housing Agency (Fundação para o Desenvolvimento Habitacional de Fortaleza – Habitafor), during the 2006 to 2011 period, within the framework of the new housing policy defined by the National Cities Agency (Ministério das Cidades). This policy provided a significant amount of resources to the housing sector, to the benefit of the population earning up to three minimum wages, which was enabled to have access to free housing. However, due to the high cost of urbanized land in relation to available public resources, the newly built houses were located away form the centers of jobs, commerce, and services. Besides, there remained, in great measure, the option of removing squatter settlements (favelas) to housing projects, instead of a policy to urban and land regularization of these settlements. Participation of those benefited by the programs was limited to access to information on the characteristics of the projects, on which they could not say much. The result were massive projects located in peripheral areas of the city, with little access to urban services, thus replicating the experience of the National Housing Bank (Banco Nacional da Habitação – BNH) during the military dictatorship.