Addressing policies and programs for the improvement of poor neighborhoods in Brazil: Opportunities and challenges in the case of ZEIS in recife

The urban population has grown at an unprecedented rate, and numerous studies reported the failure of markets and the state to meet the growing demand for housing for the vast majority of the urban poor who are unable to afford quality housing. One way or another, this has negatively affected the quality of life of people in their housing environment. In Brazil, this situation is no different, and is very similar to other Latin American countries. However, there is this broad claim in Brazil that housing is a need but also a right, guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988. However, the trajectory of this achievement took place over many disputes and attempts to resolve the problem, in part, outlined in this paper. The failures of state interventions in the provision of housing for the low-income sector until the 1980s have been well documented and will not be the direct addressed in this analysis. This article discusses the challenges and opportunities found in the policies and programs for the improvement of the neighborhoods in Brazil, pointing out the limits found between the gaps on their discourse and practice, and gives an emphasis on the case of ZEIS in Recife.