Research Project

Framework of Good Governance in Housing Delivery: assessing social protection programs in Brazil and South Africa

By assessing mechanisms of accountability and participation, my doctoral project is aimed at reviewing social protection programs for housing delivery in Brazil and South Africa. It intends to identify a comparative framework and later propose suggestions which could be adopted for more inclusiveness and transparency for beneficiaries in bottom-up controls and which could allow more efficient performance by the government and service providers. Housing delivery programs are analysed through a rights-based approach, in a legal comparative perspective to the development of social protection.

Poor housing conditions are an effect of fast urbanisation. Countries like Brazil and South Africa have not yet been able to solve these issues, also because their young democracies are learning governance. Yet, those two countries are remarkable for having recognised the concentrated housing deficit among low- and middle-income households and for fostering projects in slum upgrading. Also curious about Brazil and South Africa is that, in despite of those countries’ history of exclusion, both ones have been at least on legal excerpts understanding access to housing as a human right and have been trying to use it as a tool towards inclusive development with schemes of housing delivery. The problem holds on poor governance tools and on weak accountability within national frameworks, thus limiting the achievement of policy goals.

The (working) hypothesis is that, if a structured framework of accountability could be operated in more accountable, transparent, participative relations among beneficiaries, government and service providers, then housing programs would rather have more efficient outcomes, thus ensuring delivery and access to the basic right of housing.

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Markus Kaltenborn

Publications

• Vilmondes Türke, Mariana A. (2018): Business and Human Rights in Brazil: Exploring Human Rights Due Diligence and Operational-Level Grievance Mechanisms in the Case of Kinross Paracatu Gold Mine, in: Revista de Direito Internacional, v. 15, n. 2.
• Beier, Raffael & Vilmondes Alves, Mariana A. (2015): Die Dominanz des Quantitativen - Das Dilemma des Rechts auf angemessenen Wohnraum in Brasilien, Marokko und Südafrika. In: RaumPlanung 182/6-2015, S. 40-45.