“Only People Who Know It Here Speak Well of It...”: The Location of Social Housing in Brazilian Cities and Effects of Territorial Stigmatization

Abstract

In Brazil, social housing estates have acquired a reputation as substandard housing and places of the poor. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, housing policies that were designed on a national and local level focused on the fight against the growth of favelas in Brazilian cities. Often, the inhabitants of favelas were resettled to public housing estates (conjuntos habitacionais) in the urban peripheries where they did not have access to infrastructures and public services. This has contributed much to the bad image of social housing. In their daily life, the residents are subjected to a multilayered process of stigmatization. This article considers a conjunto that was established in the central area of Belo Horizonte in the 1940s. Even though its location brought important advantages, the inhabitants suffer from the stigma of being dwellers of a housing complex (“moradores de conjunto”). By analyzing contemporary sources and oral history interviews, this article aims to contribute to the discussion about the location of social housing in Brazilian cities and the effects of territorial stigmatization. Furthermore, the focus is on recent developments which show that there are several ways how stigma can be reduced or even reversed.