WELTSTADT

Bairro Farrapos: Houses showing the variety of renovations.
© Guilhermo Gil

Bairro Farrapos is a neighborhood located in the north of Porto Alegre, it was officially established in 1988, bordering the neighborhoods Humaitá and Navegantes. From the 1960s on, population growth in Porto Alegre resulted in a shortage of housing, transportation and infrastructure. This context led to the expansion of the city towards the north, where housing prices and the relative proximity to the city center revealed the attraction potential of the area. Bairro Farrapos is one of the poorest areas of Porto Alegre. Essentially residential, the neighborhood includes a community health center and it also has a small groceries business sector. According to official figures, in the year 2010 the neighborhood had a population of approximately 17.000 inhabitants over an area of 165 hectares.


Bairro Farrapos: View from the street towards the "Arena do Grémio" stadium. © Guilhermo Gil

The Stadium “Arena do Grêmio” was recently built very close to Vila Liberdade in Bairro Farrapos and its influence in the economy of the neighborhood is already evident. Many local residents started using empty fields near the stadium to rent as parking space for the visitors to sporting events as an extra source of income. Other sorts of business also seem to be flourishing in the neighborhood, which had previously been affected by high unemployment rates. But despite the positive outcomes the area around the stadium also has some drawbacks: to improve accessibility and build up support infrastructure, some residents had to be evicted and their houses demolished. The real estate value escalation and the ensuing gentrification are also among the most visible challenges, letting one guess at the fragmentation of the community that resided in the area before. The question that remains is whether such a facility can also trigger new forms of active involvement and collective association of the residents.


Bairro Farrapos: Public space being used for commercial activity.
© Guilhermo Gil

On January 27th, 2013, a big fire ravaged the area. Around 200 families lost their homes but some decided to stay in the area, refusing the provisional housing offered by the authorities. Some for practical reasons but others as “symbols of resistance”. According to DEMHAB, the Municipal Department for Housing, there was a meeting on 3 February 2013 with the former residents and DEMHAB representatives where the proposal for future development was presented and discussed. A project big enough to house 600 families, including the ones that lost their homes, was proposed. The formerly irregular occupation would be replaced by another one where the residents would own their own houses, guarantees Everton Braz, head of DEMHAB.


Bairro Farrapos: Empty site after the fire. © Guilhermo Gil


Bairro Farrapos: Temporary housing to shelter the families affected by the fire. © Guilhermo Gil


"Extensions" added to the temporary houses in order to meet the residents’ needs. © Guilhermo Gil


Bairro Farrapos: Temporary houses. © Guilhermo Gil


Bairro Farrapos: Family houses showing the diversity of the renovations.
© Guilhermo Gil


Bairro Farrapos: Central square of the vila Mário Quintana.
© Guilhermo Gil


Bairro Farrapos: Part of the area affected by the fire.
© Guilhermo Gil


Bairro Farrapos: Church being demolished near the road.
© Guilhermo Gil