89863 CITIES WITHOUT CIVIS Sharing Knowledge and Learning from Cities SLUMS No. 9 — 2014 Land tenure regularisation is helping millions of low-income Brazilians secure housing rights. Photo by Cities Alliance Secretariat Cities Alliance in Brazil: A Partnership for Success Prepared by: Mariana Kara José Kiel T he Cities Alliance’s portfolio in Brazil has strengthened after 2003, when the Ministry of Cities historically been the partnership’s biggest, was created and Brazil formally joined the Cities with more than 30 projects totalling over Alliance.1 From the beginning of the Cities Alliance USD 20 million over the past 12 years. This partnership, Brazil has emerged as a champion of longstanding partnership has produced valuable slum upgrading. The urban transition in the country experiences related to integrated slum upgrading that was virtually complete by the time the Cities Alliance are highly relevant to other cities around the world, was launched in 1999, a transition that was poorly mainly in Africa and Asia. managed and resulted in the settlement of huge slums, or favelas, in Brazilian cities. The Cities Alliance has had a presence in Brazil since 2001, working very closely with city and national Cities Alliance members the World Bank and the policymakers on the design and implementation Italian Government played a key role in establishing of important urban planning and knowledge 1 The Brazilian government is represented through the following organisations: dissemination tools, as well as on social housing and slum upgrading. This partnership was further - The Ministry of Cities: Federal body responsible for urban development policy and sectorial policies for housing, sanitation and urban transportation. - CAIXA - Federal Savings Bank: A major government-owned financial institution that provides banking products and services in Brazil. Its activities include real estate loans, basic sanitation, urban infrastructure, and commercial banks. CAIXA plays a leading role in the implementation of the national housing programmes, operationalising housing credit and providing technical and specialised human resources. The CIVIS series shares knowledge and learning arising from Cities Alliance projects and other activities in slum upgrading and city development strategies. It also serves as a platform for policy dialogue among city development stakeholders, including national and local governments, donors and slum dwellers to impact change in the lives of the urban poor and advance the urban development agenda. www.citiesalliance.org “My most exciting moment the partnership’s early foothold in Brazil. Building upon the support it had provided to the state of Bahia, with Cities Alliance was when Italian cooperation designed a much larger project Brazil joined the Cities Alliance with the support of the World Bank. What started as an upgrading and rehabilitation project blossomed to in 2003. Brazil was the first take on national significance in terms of innovation developing country to join and lessons learned. the Cities Alliance and this By the time the Brazilian Ministry of Cities was was an expression, a gesture created, the Cities Alliance had already set up an office in São Paulo. This good timing, combined by the Government of Brazil with consistent member support and the presence that expressed its willingness of in-country staff, enabled the Cities Alliance and and its interest in adopting the Brazilian Government to develop a long-term, successful partnership that provided technical and pro-poor housing and urban financial support to flagship programmes aimed at development policies. And that improving national urban policies. It also ensured that key projects, such as the Bahia and the São Paulo was a big moment because it projects, would remain on track and stable, despite ushered in the generation of several government changes—a key characteristic of the Cities Alliance portfolio in Brazil. reforms that transformed access to housing and urban services Overall, the Cities Alliance and its members have made a very active contribution to the urban debate for Brazil’s poor and completely in Brazil, and Brazil’s representatives to Cities transformed Brazil’s housing Alliance Consultative Group have been extremely active and stable partners. Brazil’s decision to join and urban development sector. the Cities Alliance in 2003 was a landmark event in In opening the way for the the history of the organisation, helping strengthen participation of key partners the Cities Alliance as a partnership. Today, Brazil is increasingly sharing its know-how with other partner such as the World Bank with countries and cities through the Cities Alliance major financing through a network. development policy loan which supported the reform Including Upgrading in the programmes that transformed Growth Agenda Brazil’s housing and urban Over the past four decades, Brazil has become one of development in the ensuing the most urbanised countries in the world, with 84% decade.” of Brazilians living in cities.2 As in so many developing countries, rapid urbanisation has been accompanied by Ivo Imparato, Principal Regional Team Leader, Latin America and the Caribbean, a lack of urban planning, inadequate job opportunities Water and Sanitation Program, and predatory land markets leading to a huge The World Bank population of urban poor. According to the 2010 2 Brazil has190 million inhabitants living over a 8.5 million km2 area distributed in 5,565 municipalities. Source: Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (2010) Indicadores sociais municipais: Uma análise dos resultados do universo do Censo Demográfico. Available at: www.ibge.com.br. 2 Cities Alliance in Brazil: A Partnership for Success national census, 3.2 million households—11.4 million Brazil’s Urban Transition people, equivalent to 6% of the country’s population— Throughout this period of rapid transition, Brazilian cities and the were living in destitute settlements. Most of them were national government have put to the test many different policies and concentrated in metropolitan areas with a population approaches to social housing initiatives with varying degrees of success. of more than one million people.3 Larger cities have traditionally taken the lead in slum upgrading, most notably through the pioneering Favela Bairro programme in Rio de Janeiro and the Guarapiranga project in São Paulo. “The City Statute of Brazil is Rural and Urban population in justifiably highly regarded in Brazil (in % 1950- 2011) 100 many countries throughout the 84,6 world. The history of the City 80 79,9 Population residing in Statute is an example of how a 60 63,8 55,9 Urban Area large number of stakeholders 40 36,2 44,1 Population residing in from different sectors of society 26,1 20 15,4 Rural Area pursued a concept of this 0 1950 1970 1990 2011 type for many years and saw Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population it come to fruition in the face Division, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2011 Revision pp. 124 and 132 of adverse circumstances. The Protracted pressure by social movements for Statute seeks to bring together, many years led to the approval of the 1988 Federal in a single text, a series of key Constitution, setting forth the basis for a new legal themes related to democratic urban order in the country. It was subsequently consolidated in 2001 by Federal Law No. 10.257, government, urban justice and known as the City Statute.4 The enactment of the City environmental equilibrium Statute put in place a progressive regulatory framework and created the conditions for the Brazil to address to cities. It also highlights the the real scale and nature of its social and urban deficit, gravity of the urban question, with the goal of providing land access and equity ensuring that urban issues in Brazilian cities. The City Statute confirmed and broadened the legal and political role of municipalities occupy a prominent position on vis-à-vis urban policy while asserting a social approach the national agenda of Brazil— to urban property rights. now a predominantly urbanised Over three million country that was essentially rural households—6% of Brazil's until relatively recent times.” Erminia Maricato (2010): The statute of the peripheral population—live in slums. city in: ‘The City Statute of Brazil: A commentary’. Cities 88.2% of all urban dwellers live Alliance, pp.5-22. in metropolitan areas with a population of one million or 3 In 2000, only 43.2% of homes in large metropolitan areas had adequate access to basic infrastructure, public transport and social services, and their building quality more. was substandard. The situation was even worse in their outlying areas, where (Census 2010, IBGE) only 24.3% of housing was adequate. Source: Cities Alliance (2009), The State of the Cities in Brazil: the 2000 – 2009 report, Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/ 4 Cities Alliance (2010), The City Statute of Brazil: A commentary. Available at: node/3525. www.citiesalliance.org/node/1947. www.citiesalliance.org 3 São Paulo, overview of Paraisopolis slum. Photo by Fabio Knoll. Following the election of President Luis Inácio Lula The introduction of PAC in 2007 included, for the da Silva in 2002 and the creation of the Ministry of first time, slum upgrading as one of the priority pillars Cities—which was also included in the agenda drafted of national investment—enabling social housing by the urban social movements—the stage was set initiatives to increase their scale in the country.5 for further progress in responding to social demands. Economic stability, a gradual drop in interest rates The new government launched a serie of national and higher family income help explain this rebound programmes to address the historic urban deficit. in housing finance, although other factors should Since then, a series of measures have been conducted also be considered. Housing policy, in the sense of to undertake a significant policy reform agenda for promoting access to affordable housing in the form of Brazil’s urban and housing sector, including the either credit or government subsidies, benefitted from enforcement of a National Housing Policy (2004) increased public resources, credit and the willingness and the establishment of a National Housing Finance of the private sector to play a more active role in System and Fund (2005). These important policy the process, primilary because housing became an and institutional reforms provided the framework attractive investment alternative. to launch the two major housing investment programmes in Brazil: Growth Acceleration Programme (PAC– Programa de Aceleração de Crescimento) Slum Upgrading (2007), and My Home My Life programme (2009) for housing provision. 5 PAC was introduced during the second mandate of President Lula with a view to restoring investment in housing and public sanitation areas, which had been abandoned for almost 25 years. Under the PAC, over US$ 30 billion were invested over a seven-year span of time reaching 1.8 million families. 4 Cities Alliance in Brazil: A Partnership for Success Increased activity in the housing sector became key to The Ministry of Cities leveraging economic growth and employment in Bra- zil, especially given the global economic crisis. This The Ministry of Cities was created following President activity subsequently lead to the creation of My Home Lula’s historic election in 2002. It was structured to promote My Life Programme (PMCMV – Programa Minha universal access to fundamental rights through decentralised Casa, Minha Vida). Announced in 2009, it aimed to actions and with popular participation. The new Ministry was given the responsibility to help states deliver 3.7 million houses by December 2014.6 The and municipalities consolidate a new urban development programme became a benchmark for Brazil’s housing model embracing urban planning, housing, sanitation and policy and significantly scaled up the level of individ- urban transport. Its creation was meant to fill the gap left by an over 30-year absence of a national urban policy, and ual subsidies as well as the availability of funding for a lack of participation by social movements, entities and subsidies and finance.  municipalities. These popular mobilisation movements also were responsible for the enactment of Law No. 10.257 of 2001, known as the Estatuto da Cidade (City Statute), a landmark Since 2003, housing-driven investments have piece of legislation, amending Articles 182 and 183 of the increased by about 600% in Brazil. Investments for 1988 Federal Constitution dealing with urban development matters and making them into norms, and validating power- low-income families were prioritised, with special sharing through the participation of the population in city attention to those earning up to three times the management as an important component of the right to the minimum wages7, while housing construction for city. More info: www.cidades.gov.br the middle class was encouraged. The housing deficit has significantly decreased in the past years, and in 2010 it was estimated at six million households— by providing continued guidance and technical support representing 10% of all households in Brazil. to national policymaking frameworks. The partnership While these advances in housing policy have been has also contributed to the launch and successful impressive, phasing out the housing deficit remains implementation of Federal programmes to scale a challenge for the Brazilian government. With the up slum upgrading and the provision of affordable main programmes in place, the key challenge now is housing in Brazil. In addition, the Cities Alliance to ensure their sustainability on several fronts: urban supported the Ministry of Cities in organising the insertion, social, economic and environmental first National Conference of Cities and the subsequent development, and enhancing the quality of delivered establishment of the National Council of Cities, which services. laid the groundwork for the implementation of these new policies in Brazil. Both of these organisations are key instruments instituted by the City Statute, and Key achievements both are important channels for citizen participation in urban and housing policy decisions. Since 2001, the Cities Alliance and its members have supported a range of activities in Brazil to strengthen pro-poor urban policies and to create opportunities National Programmes for Land Regularisation and for international knowledge-sharing and the dissem- Risk Prevention. The initial co-operation between the ination of lessons learned. Highlights include: Cities Alliance and the Ministry of Cities was intended to support national policymaking to guide all government Developing National Policy Frameworks programmes towards the sustainable regularisation of urban informal settlements. This partnership succeeded Through a longstanding partnership with Ministry of in getting a comprehensive regularisation programme Cities which began when the Ministry was created in included in the municipal urban development agenda, 2003, the Cities Alliance and its members—notably extending security to millions of poor Brazilians.8 the World Bank—have contributed to the institutional strengthening and consolidation of the new Ministry 6 By December 2013, the PMCMV registered more than 3.2 million units contracted and 1.5 million units delivered over five year. Ministério das Cidades. 8 Cities Alliance (2013), Cities Alliance in Action: Expanding Land Tenure and Available at: www.cidades.gov.br. Reducing Risk in Brazil’s Poorest Communities. Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/ 7 Minimum wage = R$724 (US$300). Exchange rate 1 USD=2.4 BRL (Feb.2014). node/3544. www.citiesalliance.org 5 The involuntary resettlement policy has been a key to facilitating major slum upgrading programmes in preparation for several world events in Brazil. Photo from Secretaria Nacional de Habitação. National Housing Plan and Programmes. In the social component of housing programmes, partnership with the World Bank, the Cities Alliance promoting sustainable resettlement process due to provided support to the design and planning of the development needs, and creating a Monitoring and current housing policy and its main programmes, Evaluation framework. such as the PAC slum upgrading and the My Home My Life housing subsidies programme. The Cities Supporting a Landmark Involuntary Alliance also actively supported the National Housing Resettlement Policy. In 2013, the Ministry of Cities Plan (PLANHAB) planning process, which was key to enacted a groundbreaking policy designed to safeguard identifying the main housing challenges and adopting the rights of residents who are involuntarily resettled a long-term outlook. from their homes. This policymaking was supported by the Cities Alliance and the World Bank. The new This steady partnership contributed to achieving policy regulates procedures and measures to be significant outcomes in housing policies in Brazil, adopted in cases of involuntary resettlement of families and created several important global benchmarks: from their homes or business (place of economic (i) a National Housing Plan; (ii) a national-level slum activities), caused by the execution of national upgrading programme (PAC); and (iii) a large scale programmes and actions managed by the Ministry housing subsidies programme (PMCMV). Over the of Cities. This policy is a significant development for last few years, the focus of Cities Alliance support to social housing in Brazil. Its implementation embeds the Ministry of Cities has evolved to include improving the concept of social sustainability within the Ministry 6 Cities Alliance in Brazil: A Partnership for Success of Cities’ substantial investment programmes and it initiatives aimed at filling this gap and contributing to creates a benchmark for other Brazilian authorities the improvement of the quality of services delivered. who are implementing infrastructure programmes. The policy also has the potential to act as an international Institutional Capacity Building for Slum benchmark for a controversial policy issue that Upgrading. The Cities Alliance supported the governments would often rather avoid.9 organisation of the first distance-learning courses to reinforce the institutional capacity of local authorities National Guidelines to Improve the Social promoted by the Ministry of Cities under the National Component of Housing and Slum Upgrading in Programmes for Land Tenure Regularization and Risk Brazil. The Cities Alliance, together with the World Management in 2005. The highly successful experience Bank, the Italian government, and the AVSI Foundation, motivated the Ministry of Cities to expand the use of supported the Ministry of Cities in drafting national distance-learning to other courses, and in 2008, with the guidelines and a toolkit to enhance the social work announcement of PAC’s investments in slum upgrading, component of slum upgrading and housing projects. the government partnered with the University of São These guidelines, approved as a national ordinance by Paulo to design and implement an award-winning the Ministry of Cities in 2014, represent a significant distance-learning course on integrated slum upgrading shift in the way Brazil approaches social support for actions. Based on its success, the Cities Alliance vulnerable communities and low-income households. supported the Ministry of Cities and CAIXA’s efforts to They strengthen community participation and planning scale up the offering to a broader range of municipalities aspects of housing and slum upgrading projects— in Brazil and assisted the World Bank Institute in the helping ensure that recipients benefit from social and preparing a global initiative. Since then, over 10,000 economic development in addition to brick-and- practitioners around Brazil have benefited from the mortar interventions. To implement these guidelines, initiatives with capacity-building on development of Brazil’s National Housing Secretariat has prepared three local housing plans, promotion of social development, practical guides: diagnostics and planning, income and community participation.10 generation and strengthening community organisations. These user-friendly criteria give local governments the Dissemination of Slum Upgrading Lessons tools they need to improve the social component of slum Learned in Brazil. In partnership with the Inter- upgrading programmes and to strengthen the post- American Development Bank (IADB), the Brazilian occupancy policies. This toolkit also provides contents Ministry of Cities and CAIXA, the Cities Alliance for follow-up dissemination activities, including a conducted a survey of slum upgrading programmes distance-learning course for over 5,000 social work in precarious settlements in Brazil to distill and professionals who are involved in the implementation of disseminate useful lessons learned. These lessons Brazil’s federal housing programmes. inform recommendations for the design and management of public policy on slum upgrading Drafting and Implementing and contribute to improving the efficiency of specific programmes. The findings of this survey have been Inclusive Strategies recorded in the book Slum Upgrading: Lessons from The scale of resources committed for slum upgrading Brazil.11 and affordable housing under Brazil’s PAC and PMCMV was unprecedented. The size and outreach The State of Cities in Brazil: 2000-2009 of programmes, however, posed new challenges for Report. This report provides a cross-sector analysis those responsible for its management. Strengthening of urbanisation conditions in Brazil with a view the institutional and implementation capacity of local to informing an urban development policy that authorities responsible for undertaking the upgrading incorporates the diversity of Brazil’s municipalities, interventions became central to the programmes’ success. The Cities Alliance supported several 10 Cities Alliance (2010), Distance Learning Course: Integrated Slum Upgrading Actions. Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/node/2026. 9 Cities Alliance (2013), “Brazil Passes a Landmark Involuntary 11 Fernanda Magalhães and Francesco di Villarosa, eds. (2012), Slum Upgrading: Resettlement Policy”. Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/brazil- Lessons from Brazil, Washington, D.C.: IADB, Cities Alliance and others. This involuntarydisplacementpolicy. book is available in Portuguese, English and Spanish. www.citiesalliance.org 7 and promotes an inclusive, democratic and sustainable model of urban development. It was initiated by a group of stakeholders including the Brazilian Association of Municipalities (ABM), CAIXA, Cities Alliance, IDB, Ministry of Cities, National Association of Mayors (FNP), UN-Habitat and the World Bank. The Polis Institute coordinated the report, involving a network of researchers and institutions that built on an agenda to put together urban issues-related capabilities and expertise.12 Strengthening Cities’ Own Capacity to Improve Service Delivery to the Urban Poor At the city and state level, Cities Alliance’s direct partnership activities—such as those with the municipality of São Paulo and the state of Bahia13— have showcased good practice models of scaling up Alagados, Salvador (BA), photo by Geraldo Melo planning and urban development through national policies and programmes. international partnerships for implementation; and emphasising the development impacts deriving from Alagados and Slum Upgrading in Bahia. The Brazilian experiences. After years of fine-tuning, the Bahia project was one of the first activities undertaken methodology developed in Bahia was instrumental in by the Cities Alliance after its establishment in 1999. preparing national guidelines and a toolkit to improve The activity began in 2001 in the Alagados area, a the social aspect of housing and slum upgrading well-known slum in the Brazilian city of Salvador, projects used throughout Brazil. when the state of Bahia partnered with the Cities Alliance, the World Bank, and the Italian government It is also being applied internationally. The to make a real difference in the lives of slum dwellers Municipality of Maputo, Mozambique, is using the by adopting a participatory integrated approach Bahia methodology with the support of the Cities to slum upgrading. 14 With technical assistance Alliance, the World Bank and the Brazilian and from AVSI, more than 70 local community-based Italian governments in its own upgrading initiatives. associations were mobilised, improving public participation and establishing a dialogue between the Citywide Slum Upgrading Programme in community and public authorities.15 Throughout this São Paulo. The Cities Alliance has co-operated initiative, the Cities Alliance and its members played with the São Paulo Municipal Housing Secretariat a key role in several areas: ensuring the scaling up (SEHAB) on a citywide slum upgrading programme and dissemination of the methodology; building up since 2001. As a result of this partnership, the Municipality of São Paulo established the Bairro 12 Cities Alliance (2009), The State of the Cities in Brazil. The 2000 – 2009 report. Available at: URL: www.citiesalliance.org/node/3525. Legal Programme, an initiative providing security 13 The Cities Alliance provided support to some other Brazilian cities, among of tenure and improved living conditions for them the municipalities of Salvador and Diadema, on urban development and housing funding; to the state of Minas Gerais on metropolitan management and slum dwellers. The municipality also introduced poverty reduction in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte. a citywide upgrading policy, and eventually 14 Cities Alliance (2008), Alagados - The Story of Integrated Slum Upgrading in Salvador (Bahia) Brazil. Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/alagados. produced—with Cities Alliance support—one of 15 Through the Cities Alliance, the government of Italy provided more than US$14 the most advanced and innovative information million in grant funds for the project in Bahia. The Technical and Social Support Project´s first phase started in 2001, and facilitated a US$80-million project, including a World Bank loan and, subsequently, a second Cities Alliance grant, again with the support of the Italian government. 8 Cities Alliance in Brazil: A Partnership for Success Facilitating Global Knowledge Exchange Internationally, the Cities Alliance has provided innovative external cooperation and focused support to Brazil, creating valuable opportunities for learning and improvement of policies. Brazil has played an increasingly important role in the world in the fight against urban poverty, and the Cities Alliance and its members have facilitated significant knowledge exchanges with mixed results, while also disseminating lessons from the Brazilian experience. Slum upgrading in Mozambique. The Cities Alliance facilitated a tripartite cooperation between Brazil, Italy and the municipality of Maputo in Mozambique on upgrading efforts in the Chamanculo C neighbourhood. A highlight of the Cities Alliance Country Programme in Mozambique, this initiative brings the Brazilian slum upgrading experience to management systems: HABISP.16 By providing Maputo. It builds upon the success of the Bahia project, accurate, up-to-date information about the city’s one of the Cities Alliance’s first and most visible informal settlements, HABISP has dramatically interventions in Brazil. improved São Paulo’s ability to prioritise its social housing interventions, and it has become one Supporting the IBSA Human Settlements Group. of the city’s most effective urban planning tools. Since 2009, the Cities Alliance and the World Bank Based on the success of HABISP, and with Cities Institute (WBI) have worked together to facilitate Alliance support, São Paulo established a technical coperation between members of the India, Brazil and cooperation endeavour with the municipality of São South Africa (IBSA) Human Settlements Group. The Bernardo do Campo to customise São Bernardo’s group has become a unique platform for cooperation system, called SIHISB.17 This knowledge-sharing and learning among three countries that are grappling initiative included customising the online system, with similar urban challenges. As a next step, the documenting the process with a comprehensive group will focus its debate on applied research and publication, and highlighting lessons learned. policy making in emerging countries with a particular The information system addresses a key problem emphasis on the role of cities and human settlement faced by cities around the world: access to usable planning in sustainable development. This agenda information that is not politicised. It also shows how should feed into some of the main international relatively small investments can leverage significant debates on sustainability, poverty alleviation and learning, especially when it is shared between social inclusion in cities and metropolitan areas in cities. São Paulo’s role has evolved within the Cities emerging countries. For the Cities Alliance, working Alliance, and it has increasingly been called upon to with the IBSA Human Settlements Group was a very share its knowledge and experiences globally.18 positive experience, and provided two longstanding members—Brazil and South Africa—with the opportunity to tap into our members’ experience as 16 For more information: www.habisp.inf.br they shape their human settlements strategies.19 17 For more information: www.shihisb.saobernardo.sp.gov.br 18 Integrating the Poor: Urban Upgrading and Land Tenure Regularisation in the City of São Paulo (2004). Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/node/728 and Social 19 Cities Alliance: “IBSA Human Settlements Group Calls for Greater Focus on Housing in São Paulo: Challenges and New Management Tools (2009). Available the Urban Poor in SDG”. Available at: www.citiesalliance.org/ca_newsletters/ at: www.citiesalliance.org/sh-sp. newsletter_news/167 www.citiesalliance.org 9 The São Paulo Department of Housing and Urban Development (SEHAB) was awarded the prestigious UN-Habitat Scroll of Honour award in 2012 for a slum upgrading programme supported by the Cities Alliance. Photo by Cities Alliance Secretariat. International Policy Dialogue. In 2008, the Cities What can we learn from the Alliance hosted its first major South-South cities exchange event, which was hugely successful, leading partnership with Brazil? to demands for more fora of this kind to be held for Arguably, the main lesson learned from the Cities learning and experience sharing. Co-organised by the Cities Alliance and the municipality of São Paulo, Alliance–Brazil partnership is the importance of a this five-day event brought together representatives long-standing relationship. Since the early 2000s, of South megacities, such as Cairo, Ekurhuleni, the Cities Alliance and its members have provided Lagos, Manila, Mumbai to share their experiences just-in-time policy advice, technical assistance, and on “Challenges of Slum Upgrading” with São Paulo’s capacity building to local partners. The partnership experience as a case study. These participants were has enhanced local efforts related to planning, joined by ‘observers’ from other cities, and by implementation and improvement of current housing representatives of development organisations.20 policies and the two national pillar programmes: PAC and PMCMV. The main shift towards achieving large- scale investments and structuring innovative subsidies Nine Years of the City Statute. The Cities Alliance, schemes able to reach a large, diverse country like jointly with the Ministry of Cities, organised a debate Brazil has already taken place. Activities implemented on processes involved in framing the Brazilian City under this ongoing technical assistance approach have Statute and implementing it over a nine-year period at provided a valuable contribution to strengthening the 5th World Urban Forum, held in Rio de Janeiro in the Ministry of Cities and urban policymaking in 2010. In addition to analysing the importance of the Brazil. The engagement of different stakeholders, from regulatory and urban frameworks designed to address private sector to social movements and international the many and varied urban shortcomings in Brazilian organisations, is now providing a strong political cities, this event drew international attention to the platform for the constant improvement and spread of Statute and provided an opportunity to assess both national policy into local government investment plans the potential and constraints to applying its concepts and programmes. in other countries. 20 Cities Alliance (2008), Slum Upgrading Up Close. Available at: www. citiesalliance.org/node/694 10 Cities Alliance in Brazil: A Partnership for Success In recent years, a key goal of this partnership has the Cities Alliance and its members is to facilitate been to improve the social component of housing sharing these experiences with other rapidly programmes aimed at enhancing the quality and urbanising regions and cities, such as in Sub-Saharan sustainability of housing developments. This shift Africa and Southeast Asia. depended not only upon technical inputs, but also a cultural change away from regarding the household Finally, the experience of the Cities Alliance in Brazil itself as the sole aspect responsible for generating has been a catalyst in changing the business model of social and economic development. Many challenges the Cities Alliance itself. While the portfolio in Brazil remain, however, such as improving monitoring contained a wide range of activities and projects, they systems, enhancing the integration of social and were all aimed at supporting the Ministry’s attempts economic policies at the territorial level, and building to forge a new urban agenda in Brazil, and to create up stakeholders’ capacity in order to leverage the scale space for innovations at the city level. In a very real of sustainable housing initiatives. sense, Brazil was the first, pioneering Cities Alliance Country Programme. Successful slum upgrading strategies undertaken in a sustainable manner and on a citywide scale call for a great deal of effort. There is no magic: what is needed, among other things, is clear foresight, public policy that is committed to a longer-term view, policy stability, consistent investment and the effective participation of communities. Strategies that anticipate future growth patterns are generally far less costly, less socially disruptive, and less complex than retrofitting approaches. A review of experiences in Brazil demonstrates the scale of the challenges but also concrete policies of upgrading neighbourhoods. A key opportunity for www.citiesalliance.org 11 info@citiesalliance.org ǀ www.citiesalliance.org knowledge resources ǀ national urban policies ǀ housing ǀ land regularisation ǀ Alagados ǀ IBSA human settlements group ǀ involuntary resettlement policy ǀ slum upgrading ǀ Bairro Legal ǀ Ministry of Cities ǀ incremental housing ǀ results ǀ Brazil Facebook – www.facebook.com/pages/Cities-Alliance Twitter  - www.twitter.com.citiesalliance Flickr – www.flickr.com/photos/citiesalliance