Kowaltowski, D C C K; Muianga, E A D; Granja, A D; Moreira, D D C; Bernardini, S P and Castro, M R (2019) A critical analysis of research of a mass-housing programme. Building Research & Information, 47(6), pp. 716-733. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
A recent expansion of mass-housing programmes has occurred in emerging economies. The analysis of research on programmes raises questions about what type of research is produced and what its impact is on housing. The Brazilian 'My House, My Life' (Minha Casa, Minha Vida – MCMV) programme demonstrates that more of the same type of housing is produced and that the focus of most research repeats the same mistakes. Three million homes have been built and the research community has examined the programme’s social, economic and environmental impacts. A total of 2477 scientific studies on MCMV are analyzed. Few studies were found to assess living conditions from a user perspective at the residential unit scale. Although improvements have occurred on some social issues, the siting of housing on the urban periphery is problematic for urban mobility, social segregation and aesthetic monotony. Also, the design model does not respond to the diverse needs of inhabitants. Opportunities are identified for actions and essential missing research on mass housing. Retrofit strategies are urgent and social cost studies should induce change to the design model. Evidence-based research is needed to support policies and design processes for affordable and quality housing solutions that value users, their needs and aspirations.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | housing quality; housing research; inhabitants; mass housing; peri-urban; slums; social housing; social impacts; social inequality |
| Index terms: | housing research, retrofit strategy, user perspective, environmental impact, design model, social housing, housing, mobility, slum, social impact, inequality, aesthetic, evidence, living condition, emerging economy, design process, programme |
| Subjects: | economic development, renovation and retrofit, infrastructure and transport systems, urban design, design process, design methods, construction type, factor and component analysis, project controls, sociology, evaluation and assessment methods, environmental impact, housing and residential development, user focus |
| Topics: | Ethics, Construction Technology, Sustainability, International Construction, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Design Practice, Time Control, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here