Shortcomings of Brazil’s Minha Casa, Minha Vida Programme
Brazil's social housing programme Minha Casa, Minha Vida prides itself on having delivered an enormous amount of affordable housing. But putting a roof over people's heads is not sufficient if the settlements are located on the far outskirts of a city, depriving residents of access to urban resources, claims Clarisse Cunha Linke.
6 Features That Make Brazil’s Affordable Housing Programme Good for People and the Environment
“Minha Casa, Minha Vida” (My House, My Life) is Brazil’s largest affordable housing project to this day. Priscila Pacheco describes the buildings’ sustainability features that benefit the residents and the environment.
Room for Improvement: How to (Better) Integrate Housing and Labour Markets
Housing and labour are mutually dependent, but their connection is overlooked in economic policies most of the time. Edmundo Werna, Ramin Keivani and Youngha Cho argue that a closer look and a different understanding of how the two markets are linked will lead to more effective solutions and better housing and livelihood conditions, especially in the Global South.
Urban Regeneration: Viewpoints of a Mexican City
The city of Morelia, Mexico is planning to combat urban sprawl by densification and regeneration. With “District 4.0”, the city is hoping to attract investments from the creative-digital industries.
Liveable Cities Need Sustainable Solutions
Climate change poses new and specific challenges to the way we think about building. Christine Lemaitre from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) calls out to architects, planners, and builders to respond to this challenge instead of waiting for the entailing problems to solve themselves.
The Lagos Water Crisis: Any Role for the Private Sector?
Lagos is suffering from severe water shortage due to profit-oriented politics. Akinbode Oluwafemi points out the conflicts and problems around the privatisation of the water sector and offers alternative solutions for one of the world’s most populous cities.