Do quarto de casa ao bairro - (Re)Qualificação dos bairros precários da cidade da Praia

Abstract

This thesis focus on one of the biggest challenges that the developingcountries face nowadays: the fast growth of slums represent betweenone third to more than half of these cities built environment.Considering a specific territory, the City of Praia, Cabo Verde,this investigation seeks to contribute for the comprehension ofthe processes of slum formation and transformation as well fordiscussing policies for slum upgrading solutions.This research presents some concepts and methodologies that arebeing discussed by some authors, complemented by the experienceof Valparaíso, Chile, a city that was built essentially without an urbanplan. This debate and practical experience helped the construction ofa point of view that supports the critic, the reflection, and the choicesmade.Through a critical analysis of the current urban and architecturalcontext of Praia, this research seeks to understand and discuss theorigin and the expansion of the city since its foundation, on the lawand the juridical planning tools, as well as the programs proposed bythe entities taking into account the solutions that people applied toovercome the housing deficit, as the "quarto de casa'', the minimalunit from which the house grows.All of these facts contributed for the definition of an interventionmethodology that is expected to be a contribution to upgrade the slumsof Praia City. This intervention methodology might complementthe solution that already exists in the city, and seeks to fill the gapsthat have been identified. Indeed it aims to contribute to solutionsthat consider the identity, the expectation, and the necessities of itsinvolved inhabitants.This methodology is based on the identification of opportunities andgaps, discusses the more relevant conceptual principles and reflectson the different scales and phases of implematantion process.