Informal housing settlements and code compliance: the case of Santa Marta favela

This article discusses the impact of building and planning codes on the improvement of affordable housing settlements. It is part of a larger research project that proposes a framework for the planning of affordable housing, based on the model of a type of informal Brazilian settlement, the favela. The purpose of this article is to contribute to the literature that reveals how planning and building codes relate to opportunities for the improvement of affordable housing settlements. The article also demonstrates how alternative assessment tools can provide a more holistic evaluation for a housing settlement, offering suggestions for the general improvement of the neighbourhood. This article considers affordable housing that is produced specifically for low-income families. Its production is subsidised by the Brazilian government and the monthly payment of the loan (or rent, in some rarer cases) cannot be more than 30 per cent of the family’s income. Despite the government’s efforts, the estimated housing shortage in Brazil in 2024 totals 6 million residences. Throughout the twentieth century in Brazil there were numerous efforts by the federal and local governments to address the problem of housing shortage. There were also many attempts to eradicate favelas, which were always seen by the public as places of poverty, misery and criminality. This article analyses how a case study, the Santa Marta favela in Rio de Janeiro, complies with local and building codes. It also uses a qualitative tool for assessing housing quality to evaluate the same case.