Programa Habitacional da Comissão para o Alojamento de Refugiados (CAR). Da necessidade de linhas orientadoras para uma intervenção

Abstract

The return of hundreds of thousands of Portuguese citizens from the African colonies after the Revolution of April 25, 1974, generated an unprecedented housing crisis. Among the various emergency responses, the creation of the Commission for Refugee Housing (CAR) in 1976 stands out, responsible for promoting a largescale programme of lightweight prefabricated housing across the country, of which this study identified and systematised 2,261 dwellings. Conceived as temporary solutions, many of these houses remain inhabited today, revealing the persistence of a programme largely overlooked by mainstream historiography. This dissertation aims to critically recover the memory of the CAR program, systematizing its national dimension and analyzing in detail a case study - the Bairro da Portela, in Marco de Canaveses. The research drew on documentary and archival sources (FFH, IHRU, SIPA), specialized literature, architectural survey and drawings, as well as interviews and local contacts, to articulate the historical reading with the built reality. The results identify some of the typological models produced, their constructive limits, and the unexpected permanence of these houses in the Portuguese urban fabric. The analysis of current conditions highlights structural weaknesses, deficiencies in environmental comfort, barriers to accessibility, and energy inefficiency. However, rather than demolition - rendered unfeasible by legal, economic, and urban constraints - the dissertation argues for the need for pragmatic rehabilitation guidelines. Incremental interventions, such as the replacement of hazardous roofing, basic improvements in insulation and ventilation, minimal functional reorganization, and accessible technical support, can restore dignity and quality of life to their residents. By rescuing the CAR program from historiographical silence and proposing its recognition as active social heritage, this dissertation contributes to a broader reflection on the right to housing and on the urgency of public policies capable of integrating - rather than excluding - these communities in the future of housing in Portugal.