Brazil, Porto Alegre
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)
Abstract
Based on the recognition of the housing problems of Brazilian cities, this MOOC addresses the upgrading of vilas (informal settlements) and technical assistance to social housing in the south of the country. For the vila upgrading, two main approaches were developed: a university extension project entitled “Emerging Urban Practices”, involving the work of university academics and graduate as well as undergraduate students with vila communities, and a research project on the technical assistance development process for social housing.
Through the extension project, vila upgrading actions were developed in the communities “Vila Nazaré” and “Ocupação Povo Sem Medo”. The aim was to develop social work between the university and the vila communities as well as to provide practical learning for future architects and urban planners. The research project developed two case studies: “20 de Novembro” and “Cerâmica Anita”. The research aimed to contribute to the theoretical and practical discussions about technical assistance in social housing as well as to instigate reflections about the community participation in project processes for social housing.
The MOOC team is coordinated by Professor Inês Martina Lersch and Professor Luciana Miron (Faculty of Architecture and Post-Graduate Program in Urban and Regional Planning at UFRGS). Together with Professor João Rovati and Professor Bruno Mello, Professor Lersch leads the extension project with the informal settlements, using these examples to discuss the themes of social housing, urban territorial disputes and impacts on the environment. Together with Josiane Scotton, Karla Moroso and Francieli Schallenberger, Professor Miron guides research works that focus on topics such as the community participation in project processes for social housing. André Grassi coordinates the audiovisual production team, which is composed of four undergraduate students: Ana Imperatore, Marcelle da Rosa, Júlia Carvalho and Bárbara Farias.
SDG #11 Target and Indicator
The main objective of the MOOC is to present and discuss the context of social housing in southern Brazil. This target shall be addressed by offering theoretical and conceptual information on the topics as well as by portraying the complex reality of life in vila communities and by discussing the challenges to develop social housing projects through technical assistance.
