Urban policies and projects for social housing in central areas. The case of the Habitasampa competition (São Paulo, Brazil)

• This paper focuses on urban policies, socio-spatial division, and social housing projects in Brazil.
• It concerns the redevelopment of the inner centre of São Paulo.
• It discusses the relationship between architecture and the city in recent projects in São Paulo.
• The paper is concerned with recent architectural competitions and innovation.

The housing shortage in Brazil, which is currently estimated at 5.5 million units, is the constant subject of architectural and urbanistic studies. The theoretical affiliations and methodological tools used in these studies are diverse and, as befits the complexity of the issues involved, utilise ideologies and methods from several fields—even antagonistic ideologies and methods. In Brazil, there is a consensus on the need to reorganise cities, in which approximately 84% of the population lives, through strategies that address the relationship between social housing and urban density. This need exists primarily in major metropolises, where rapid and abstruse growth overcomes collective and sustainable practices. This paper analyzes the relationship between urban policies and social housing in the redevelopment process occurring in the central area of São Paulo. It focuses on transformations that occurred during the beginning of the 21st century, a period when Brazil was prominent in terms of economic growth in the international arena. As a case study, it focuses on the Habitasampa architectural competition, which is considered to be one of the most innovative and important contests during this period. This analysis of the winning Habitasampa project designs, in terms of their theoretical and political frameworks, will help create new methodological guidelines for the preparation of urban plans and policies related to social housing in dense urban areas.