CITIES ALLIANCE CITIES ALLIANCE 73459 ACTION IN ACTION IN Technology that Transformed Urban Planning in São Paulo: HABISP Ranked among the world’s largest – and wealthiest – cities, São Paulo has faced a housing crisis for decades. With 26 Project: Strategies for the Sustainable Planning, per cent of its 11 million residents living in precarious and Financing and Implementation of Low-Income Housing and Urban Development Policy informal settlements, the city’s major challenges include slum upgrading, reducing vulnerability to natural hazards, Partners: Cities Alliance, the World Bank, City of regularising land tenure and providing decent São Paulo Department of Housing and Urban accommodation to every paulistano. Development (SEHAB) Duration: 2004 - 2008 In 2001, the City of São Paulo Department of Housing and Urban Development (SEHAB) embarked on a new and Cities Alliance Financing: USD 450,000 comprehensive urban development strategy that would benefit the city’s poorest residents. As a first step, over 2,000 field inspections were conducted In 2004, SEHAB was in the midst of implementing the to update SEHAB’s existing housing records. The process Bairro Legal Technical Assistance Project in São Paulo, included updating data fields, defining boundary and with the support of the Cities Alliance, when it embarked property record information, and then entering the on its next major project: an initiative to develop strategies information into the system. All data, including satellite for sustainable planning, financing and implementing the images, was geo-referenced to cartographic and housing policy. This initiative, which was also supported photographic databases. In addition, data related to the by the Cities Alliance, included a housing information network of existing water and sewer mains was obtained system, later named HABISP. from the Basic Sanitation Company of São Paulo (SABESP). By cross-referencing this sewer information HABISP was envisaged as a housing information and with geo-referenced data, it became possible to identify the mapping system, part of a larger project to add strategic extent to which these services were installed in each direction to São Paulo’s Municipal Housing Policy. It was settlement. The prioritisation process was not purely planned as a complete dataset containing information mechanical; SEHAB staff could pre-assign weights about residents of public housing and precarious according to what they considered to be priorities, based settlements of various kinds – favelas, informal land on a system of indicators to rank the settlements. subdivisions, slum tenements and hazardous areas. Its purpose was to provide a comprehensive view of all The rich mass of data produced a comprehensive picture settlements in São Paulo and identify the most vulnerable of the different types of settlements in São Paulo, their population groups in order to prioritise interventions on precariousness and upgrading needs. By 2008, SEHAB had an equitable basis. a reliable online housing information system that was easily accessible to the public. The Making of HABISP Technology that is Truly Transformative In 2005, SEHAB contracted an information technology (IT) team to build HABISP as a user-friendly system that With HABISP, São Paulo’s decision makers now have municipal technical staff could access and input data access to updated and comprehensive information on themselves, on a daily basis, if required. housing and other socio-economic conditions of the urban www.citiesalliance.org poor. Previous record-keeping instruments used by planning is truly innovative. Another Brazilian city, São SEHAB had produced considerable amounts of data that Bernardo do Campo, has developed its own management was fragmented and stored in multiple databases. HABISP system along the lines of HABISP. In 2008, São Paulo, with – an easy-to-use information system based on standardised the support of SEHAB and the Cities Alliance, organised a indicators – makes it easier to analyse and compare successful south-south knowledge exchange on slum different urban programmes. Municipal staff are able to upgrading for representatives of six large cities including constantly monitor and review their working methods and Cairo, Manila, Lagos, Ekurhuleni and Mumbai. However, make judicious decisions about activities based on the dissemination efforts need to be strengthened further for latest statistics. HABISP to gain prominence in global urban planning discourse and practice. Tereza Herling, who coordinated the project for the Cities Alliance and now coordinates the Municipal Housing Plan A word of caution: Cities that plan to build their own (2009-2024) at SEHAB, says, “While the technical staff at information and management system for planning SEHAB had considerable experience, they lacked crucial purposes must be aware that it requires significant information about the city, which hampered their decision investment in terms of human, technological and financial making. HABISP enabled them to better understand the capacity building. As one of the wealthiest cities in the city and its problems, prioritise interventions and make region, São Paulo is able to invest substantial resources in rational decisions.� HABISP. Many cities in partner countries, however, have limited resources which must be taken into account. Also, HABISP has also facilitated targeted investment into São replicating HABISP in the exact form used by São Paulo is Paulo’s urban development programmes. Specific details not recommended. It is essential that cities first assess their about the demand for housing have played a critical role in capacity and invest in building their own unique the development of the Municipal Housing Plan. With information system based on their specific needs and HABISP, city authorities and technical staff are able to institutional knowledge. define priorities for intervention, assist in urban policy development and integrate plans with other federal and As a result of the Cities Alliance’s stable and consistent state government agencies. This has also reduced the engagement with SEHAB and different city duplication of social programmes, promoting efficiency administrations since 2001, HABISP remains one of São and coordination among different actors involved in the Paulo’s primary urban planning tools *. Efforts to engage public housing sector. These factors have contributed to successive political administrations must continue in order increased public funding for upgrading efforts in São to sustain the momentum generated by HABISP-led Paulo; by 2011, it was USD 2.1 billion. strategic planning in Brazil’s largest city. * Online access to information has also enabled various city For a more detailed description of this project, please read the Cities Alliance publication Social Housing in São Paulo: stakeholders to become actively involved in the Challenges and New Management Tools and the HABISP conception, implementation and fulfillment of municipal website: www.habisp.inf.br interventions. The HABISP website is an important information source for residents on the policies and plans HABISP contributes to the long-term objectives under development. It also helps track project progress of the Cities Alliance by: and budgetary executions online, leading to transparency • Using scientific data for objective and and accountability. Online access has also facilitated rational decision-making and strategic theoretical studies and contributions to the formulation of urban planning the city’s housing policy by academic researchers. • Making housing information publicly accessible Lessons Learned from the HABISP Success Story • Facilitating targeted investments in priority HABISP’s use of scientific data for strategic urban projects www.citiesalliance.org