Participation and quality of the environment built in housing: Process and product in the program minha casa minha vida: Entities

Housing is a complex subject and its provision presents several paradigms. On contemporary free-market societies, housing tends to become an objects of financial speculation. Thus, participatory practices in housing production play an important role in civil society transformation, contributing to social justice and democracy. With a strong ideological and political foundation, such practices trigger user autonomy and control of management processes. Therefore, they stimulate a more effective use of resources, reducing costs and creating better architectural solutions. Quality of housing resulted from such processes is understood to be superior to those produced in conventional processes. However, although an old discussion, few empirical studies analyze cases that justify such hypothesis. Based on a literature review of theories of civil society and user participation practices, the research focused on current brazilian housing production, analyzing the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) program and its participatory modality: Entidades (MCMV-E). Process analysis and product physical--spatial aspects analysis aimed to understand the relationship between the participation of such actors and the quality of the built environment. Using qualitative and reflexive approaches through Case Study methodology, a comparative analysis of six units of analysis was carried out, with three cases belonging to Faixa 1 - Entidades (FDS) and three to Faixa 1 - Regular (FAR).The qualitative data survey was based on evidence such as documents, archives, interviews and direct observation. Results shows contradictions in this program modality, in accordance with policies of concessions practiced in the governments. Conflicts of program structure with self-management, bureaucracy, lack of integration of social policies and land competition end up undermining fundamental emancipatory objectives of the modality, questioning the legitimacy and effectiveness of the participatory approach in the program. Nonetheless, there is a notable distinction between modalities, bringing positive repercussions both from quality of the built environment to practices of private development resistance in Brazilian cities. Although analyzed context is in constant transformation, the researchs ought to carry out a critical reading of the current participatory housing production in Brazil, contributing with the discussion about right to housing, participation and quality of the built environment.