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Housing development has direct and
indirect impacts on the environment. Through its design,
construction, and operation, housing represents a
significant point of direct consumption of natural
materials, water, and energy. Therefore, greenhouse gas
emissions embodied in housing can be very significant.
Moreover, in Brazil, civil construction is responsible for
the largest percentage of solid waste volume generated in
cities, resulting in additional environmental impacts. The
housing sector also has substantial indirect environmental
impacts associated with extended commuting distances from
residents of housing developments and their resulting
greenhouse gas emissions.The housing sector in Brazil offers
substantial opportunities to improve enviromental
performance. Housing developments, particularly large-scale
low-cost programs, provide opportunities to minimize local
and global environmental impacts through the use of energy
efficient materials, design and construction guidelines, as
well as performance standards. Many of these technologies
and practices are appropriate to Brazilian conditions, and a
number of them are already in use. Low-cost housing programs
can be designed to incorporate sustainable materials and
guidelines, with potentially large-scale impacts. With the
launch of the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) economic
stimulus program to subsidize the construction of 1 million
low-income housing units (and recent approval of a second
round of subsidies for 2 million homes), Brazil is in a
unique position to achieve the triumvirate of sustainable
growth the social goal of reducing the national housing
deficit, the economic stimulus goal of creating jobs in the
construction industry, and the environmental goal of
developing healthy homes and communities. Centralized
funding sources like MCMV provide can be also used as models
for other assisted housing programs and, potentially,
market-rate housing developments as cities, developers and
construction product manufacturers become more experienced
in green housing technologies.Many green
construction and technology programs are already in place.
Brazil has a history of promoting programs and policies
related to sustainable housing design construction and
maintenance, such as product certification, supply-chain,
research and development, and Green Building programs. The
Selo Azul Program, launched by CAIXA in 2010 with the goal
of promoting green housing development in Brazil, is
particularly promising. Enhancements to current programs can
greatly improve sustainability of housing sector. With
increasing awareness on sustainable construction, there are
currently major opportunities to promote the incorporation
of green construction technologies, as well as
hazard-resistant technologies for climate adaptation, within
formal and informal low-income housing in Brazil. Based on a
review of current practices at the national and
international level, as well as on interviews with public
and private sector practitioners, this Policy Note presents
recommendations aimed at enhancing the sustainability of
low-income housing approaches in Brazil, through the
provision of high quality, energy-efficient housing with
minimal environmental impacts.
