This week’s excellent news is the Brazilian participation in the Chicago Architecture Biennial, opening this Thursday, the 19th. Participants include Carmen Silva, the remarkable leader of the Movimento Sem Teto do Centro (MSTC), the MSTC itself, in collaboration with Escola da Cidade and O Grupo Inteiro; Usina – Centro de Trabalhos para o Ambiente Habitado; artist Virginia de Medeiros; and Fundo FICA, the Community Rental Real Estate Fund, which I will focus on here.
FICA is a real estate fund created and managed by a nonprofit civil-society association. Its goal is to guarantee affordable housing in major cities on a permanent basis.
At the Chicago Biennial they are presenting a full-scale reproduction of the first property acquired by FICA.
I spoke to one association member, Professor Renato Cymbalista, my colleague at FAU-USP , who explained that the project operates through private donations and revenue from projects deposited into a fund.
The ultimate purpose of fundraising is to purchase properties in central São Paulo in the association’s name. These properties are rented at non-speculative rates.
Purchases using the fund’s resources prioritize small apartments in central areas served by infrastructure, transportation networks and jobs.
They also receive proposals to donate properties or lend them for free use; these may be anywhere in the city. The idea is to prevent real estate speculation from driving poorer residents out of central areas.
Selection criteria are quite objective: for example, people who live in the neighborhood, are threatened with eviction and work nearby.
Rent cannot exceed 30% of a family’s monthly income. Gender and race criteria are also taken into account.
Public policy
FICA does not compete with public policy. It fully supports public housing policies: “the more, the better. FICA is here to contribute, to open up new possibilities,” they say.
It is worth remembering that the proposed Municipal Housing Plan (2016) already provides for civil-society organizations to participate in social rental programs. It is possible, for example, to work with Bolsa Aluguel, enabling residents to live at zero cost without pouring public money into the speculative market. Instead, resources would strengthen and sustain the community supply of rental housing.
The fund welcomes donations. To learn more, visit fundofica.org.
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