Ensino e pesquisa

Resumo:

In developing countries many environmental issues are related to the social and economical conditions of the population. The social inequalities, the rapid urbanization of the cities have been responsible for the emergence of the informal settlements. Informal settlements are a typical phenomenon from developing countries where its inhabitants live in precarious conditions, without the basic infrastructure needed to satisfy the basic human needs. Many of these settlements have no water supply or sewerage, throwing the domestic garbage into water, contaminating the rivers, and soil, compromising the drainage as well as generating other environmental impacts. In recent years the Brazilian housing policy has changed its attitude towards informal settlements. Unlike previous policies that tried to eradicate slums through its destruction, municipal governments, state and national government have been adopting a process known as slum upgrading. This new way of looking at the informal settlement aims to improve the slums in order to provide to the inhabitants basic urban infrastructure - running water, drainage, sewerage and electricity. The context of upgraded slums is quite different from a corporate building but in cities of developing countries both can share the same neighborhood and both have the right to be sustainable. This paper aims to discuss some issues related to the concept of sustainability applied to slums upgrading. The authors have researched urban, sustainable and environmental indicators that are already a feature of national and international practice and conclude by outlining a scheme incorporating the most suitable guidelines that could well provide a sustainable basis for the slums upgrading.