Live-work Tactics in the Suburban House and their Effects on Public Spaces in the Peripheral Neighbourhoods of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Housing production in Brazil continues, for the most part, to be tied to the mono-functional paradigm. Social housing developments, gated communities and new neighbourhoods are conceived according to modern, functional zoning logic. However, in reality, the Brazilian way of life subverts this logic where its expression produces urban spaces that don’t correspond to what is originally planned or imposed by regulation. This paper presents the outcomes of an investigation conducted on suburban houses in Rio de Janeiro, which have been informally transformed to accommodate multiple activities ranging from living areas to workspaces. Vast areas of lots generally occupied by single-family houses characterise the low-income suburbs of Rio. In these areas, the pressing need families face to increase their income, a need associated with the general lack of infrastructure — including local commerce and facilities — fosters the development of informal economies, which in turn transforms the built environment and effecting the public space. A fragment of one of these peripheral neighbourhoods is analysed in this paper through the mapping of commercial and professional activities that take place in single-family houses. The urban environment of streets in which these kinds of activities are taking place is compared with neighbouring streets in which no such activities are apparent. The investigation consists of a consideration of the social and spatial effects of informal practices occurring within the formal city. The suburban houses are analysed as privileged spaces in which the local way of life can be observed and acknowledged as being intrinsic to a specific social and economic reality. Both spatial and building solutions are thereby recognised as valuable lessons which urge practitioners to consider alternatives to the way in which housing projects and city planning have been previously defined.

Is the Right to Mobility a Right to the City? Examining a Well-Accepted Planning Paradigm

“…Finally, the discussion presented in this paper is also fueled by some PhD research carried out within the Research Group Urbanism, Criticism and Architecture (UrCA) of the Postgraduate Program in Urbanism at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (PROURB-UFRJ). One of them was dedicated to the analysis of economic activities in residential units in dormitory suburbs and their effects on public space [5].…”

“…Indeed, in a precedent research, we verified a similar phenomenon. In streets that are less well served by transportation means and, therefore, less accessible and more peripheral to central activities, we could notice the development of commercial and professional activities within structures that were originally designed to be strictly residential [5].…”

“…In contrast, other areas, with much less mobility offer, are able to avoid this direct competition with the city center attractiveness. A local economy can thus develop, creating less economic dependence and an increased sense of community that, in turn, preserves these less accessible areas from being transformed into a perimeter-dormitory area [5]. In these regions, it is possible to identify a greater local job offer and productive activity (even if it is mainly informal) that not only keeps the resident population in the place, but also provides an effective "right to the city", and not just a "right to mobility" [6].…”

Os Impactos Nas Atividades De Geração De Renda Em Habitação Social

“…Muitas dessas reformas e intervenções visam adaptar as moradias ao ambiente local e permite a realização de atividades cotidianas e de geração de renda. Uma dessas adaptações envolve a instalação de comércio e/ou serviços anexados às casas (Arantes, 2018, Slade;Lassance, 2019). No entanto, o modelo arquitetônico padrão das HS não prevê um cômodo adicional destinado a essas atividades de trabalho e outras que se desenvolvem no ambiente doméstico.…”

“…A ocorrência desses novos centros comerciais voltados para atender a comunidade local ocorre devido às grandes distâncias entre as áreas periféricas e o centro urbano, aliadas à falta de infraestrutura básica nos conjuntos populares. Isso acaba impulsionando o crescimento do comércio local de pequeno porte e a geração de renda nas HS (Alves;Ribeiro Filho, 2013;Amore;Shimbo;Rufino, 2015;Arantes, 2018;Batista;Ramires, 2017;Holliss, 2015;Slade;Lassance, 2019).…”