Abstract:
This paper compares the space standards for social housing in Portugal and in São Paulo, and seeks
explanations for differences in the socio-economic context of both territories. The Controlled Cost
Housing (CCH) in Portugal and the housing built within the program My Home My Life (MHML) in
São Paulo Municipality are studied. The number and type of rooms, the internal floor area of
dwellings, the size of rooms, and the list and size of furniture and equipment are compared.
Three research questions are addressed: Which program has more demanding space standards? Which
social-economic conditions explain the differences in space standards? How different space standards
influence the users' satisfaction? To answer these questions, the study compares socio-economic
indicators, space standards and users' satisfaction of both territories.
The study has shown that space standards set for the construction of social housing in CCH are more
demanding than in MHML program. For instance, a CCH dwelling has almost two times the gross area
of a MHML dwelling with the same number of rooms. The differences in space standards contribute to
make the price of housing affordable to low income households in São Paulo Municipality. Although
social houses are substantially smaller in São Paulo Municipality than in Portugal, the satisfaction
level of dwellers with the size of dwellings is higher in São Paulo.
We conclude that different political options regarding how to provide housing to low income
households directly influence the space standards set for dwellings and therefore their quality.
