Preventive Resettlement of Populations at Risk of Disaster - GFDRR

4. Profile of the Population
The favelas were located on public land. Most of the
houses were built by the people living in them (80 percent)
with various materials, especially wood. The vast
majority lacked deeds.
5.1 Resettlement in Housing
Complexes
Three new apartment complexes were built for the 3,786
families that selected that option and for other families
in São Paulo: Families had to pay a fraction of the apartments’
value, with a subsidized 20-year loan.
Two criteria were established:
A 1994 socio-economic study conducted by the University
of São Paulo’s Economic Research Institute Foundation
(Fundação Instituto de Pesquisas Econômicas, FIPE)
on the 3,876 families resettled in housing complexes
found that nearly 41 percent were in the informal labor
market and 23 percent were under- or unemployed. Although
the most common income range was between
one and three minimum wages, 20 percent lived in what
was regarded as extreme poverty with a monthly family
income of less than one minimum wage. It also found
that the time needed to reach a school or health care
center was at most 30 minutes, a factor considered during
the design of resettlement options.
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The location should not disrupt the socio-cultural
ties forged in the communities; or, if it was
required, the disruption should be minimized.
Thus the complexes needed to be located at
an optimal distance, which meant taking into
account the distribution of houses at the time of
resettlement.
Families should not pay more than 10 percent
of their total monthly income. Currently, the
monthly mortgage payment for each unit is
almost US$20.
The areas selected for resettlement in housing complexes
are located in the neighborhoods of Jaraguá, São
Miguel Paulista and Guaianazes (see Map 4.4 above).
The housing complexes include the following:
5. Resettlement Alternatives
Four resettlement options were designed for the 5,137
families in the at-risk areas or areas needed for infrastructure
works. They were:
a. Resettlement in housing complexes
(3,876 families).
b. Resettlement in new houses built in the same
favelas, which were improved and upgraded
(634 families).
c. Resettlement in houses not affected by floods
in the same favelas, (630 of the 3,876 families
resettled in the housing complexes)
d. Cash compensation for property holders
(627 families).
The City Jaraguá. This complex was built in the district
(barrio) of Jaraguá, in the northern part of the city.
It covers 400,000 m 2 and contains 4,000 housing units,
1,641 of which are reserved for those resettled due to
the stream canalization program (PROCAV II). The remaining
units were distributed to other families registered
in the housing program of the Housing Secretariat
of the São Paulo municipal council.
50 Preventive Resettlement of Populations at Risk of Disaster: Experiences from Latin America