Abstract

GONDIM, Linda Maria de Pontes. Urban environment and social issue: popular housing in environmental protection areas. Cad. CRH [online]. 2012, vol.25, n.64, pp. 115-130. ISSN 0103-4979.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-49792012000100009.

The article discusses the relationship between the city and the environment as a public matter, given the proliferation of low-income housing within environmental protection areas. Although the environment is not just an "ornament", but a vital part of social life, the ecological dimension of urban settlements has only recently been acknowledged. The current analysis is based on the example of a slum in Fortaleza, located in an area of permanent protection. A City Hall project to remove the illegal residents to a housing complex nearby ended up attracting new occupiers, whose eviction was immediately determined by the Court of Justice. Due to a lack of funds to provide housing for the new "squatters", their eviction turned into an ethical and social dilemma, by weighing the right to housing against the right to a healthy environment.

Keywords : environment; housing; social issue.