A casa própria: sonho ou realidade? : um olhar sobre os conjuntos habitacionais em Natal

Abstract

This dissertation is about housing provision under a capitalist system. It aims at analyzing the economic relevance of the Brazilian housing policy, in particular, looking at the housing estates built in Natal city. It also draws on a data-base about living and housing conditions in Natal, produced in the wake of a more comprehensive research of the 50 largest housing estates in the city. Theoretically, the dissertation discusses: the symbolic dimension of housing; housing as a commodity; the alleged social and economic stability of homeownership; and the urban dynamic of housing estates. It also discusses the historic and conceptual references of the Brazilian housing policy and its consequences to Natal city. From the 1960s, polilcy under the BNH privileged the production of large housing estates. Although this was more closely related to economic rather than social objectives, this policy helped expand the urban limits. This was the case for Natal. At the end, this policy was not targeted towards the poorest in society but towards those low income house buyers who could afford to pay for the mortgages on offer