The housing cooperatives in Porto Alegre: partnership, achievements and challenges

Abstract

This article analyses the partnership between the housing cooperatives and the Municipal Department of Housing (DEMHAB) through the Program of Housing Cooperatives established in Porto Alegre since 1993. The main goal is to examine the feasibility of public-private partnerships for the provision of low-income housing, identifying difficulties faced, responses and their impact on the development of co-operative organizations and on the implementation of local housing policies. The study showed that partnerships may succeed when the interaction between state and society is based on transparency, on common goals and on shared responsibilities. This experience showed that tenure security can be achieved through the collective ownership of land. However, the process of the partnership involved frictions between state officials and cooperators and also between different types of cooperatives. Moreover, land use restrictions, lack of access to construction finance and lack of a supportive legislative and policy framework jeopardize the development of low-income housing cooperatives in the country.