The Cingapura project is a low-cost housing initiative in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It is designed to try to move the poor population from ''

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of working-class neighborhoods in Brazil. The term was first used in the Providência neighborhood in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was built by soldiers who had ...

s'' (shanty towns), where one quarter of people in São Paulo now live, into more permanent structures. This approach mimicked that of the

Housing Development Board The Housing & Development Board (HDB) (; ms, Lembaga Perumahan dan Pembangunan; ta, வீடமைப்பு வளர்ச்சிக் கழகம்) or often referred to as the Housing Board, is a statutory board under the M ...

(HDB) in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

(where over 80% of the population lives in HDB-developed public housing), hence the name ''Cingapura'' ("Singapore"). These structures are often called 'superblocks'. They were intended to have a supply of electricity, a good water supply and sewer pipes. On top of this,

residential security Home security includes both the security hardware placed on a property and individuals' personal security practices. Security hardware includes doors, locks, alarm systems, lighting, motion detectors, and security camera systems. Personal se ...

guards were to be employed to reduce crimes which were and are rife throughout the favelas in Brazil. Much of the work was to be done by the residents of the favelas themselves, the project being dubbed a 'self-help' project. The existing favelas were to be cleared and building materials provided for the builders for free. One of the major difficulties in building on the sites of the favelas was the large slopes on which they are built. This difficult terrain was the only reason the owners of the land did not use it. Levelling the land was very expensive and eventually proved too expensive; only a tenth of the proposed apartments were completed, with the focus being on residents living on marginal land, like floodplains. Some residents are not happy with the way the project has developed. Many of the towers were not completed, leaving a skyline of half-finished buildings and empty shacks. Some residents are very frustrated at the way the government have treated them. Many have moved away, or committed suicide. Also, many artisans who could practice their craft in a more free environment could not do so, as the buildings were closely controlled by the owners. Those that were built were not very successful, as many of the families from the favelas found that the new apartments were too much of a change of environment. They did not like the fact they couldn't extend on their new apartments, and many attempted to bring their livestock into the flats. Only 14,000 of the 140,000 projected apartments were actually built. Recently, a reported 6,000 apartments are likely to be built.

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The first world is here
by Elma-Lia Nascimento, 13 May 2005

{{coord missing, São Paulo (state) Geography of São Paulo Public housing Unfinished buildings and structures Welfare in Brazil Housing organizations

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