Montevideo, Uruguay
More than 1.8 billion people do not have access to adequate and affordable housing. However, few countries have taken significant measures to ensure a decent housing for their most vulnerable citizens.
There are a variety of cooperative housing models. But they usually involve residents who have and collectively generate their apartment complexes, sharing responsibilities, costs and decision making through a democratic process.
Some countries adopted cooperatives. In Zurich, Switzerland, almost a fifth of the city’s total housing park is composed of housing cooperatives.
Other countries, such as El Salvador and Colombia, have struggled to integrate housing cooperatives in the pre -existing housing policies of their countries. In fact, although Latin America has a long tradition of community housing and mutual assistance, housing cooperatives have not been rooted in many places, largely due to weak political and institutional support.
Uruguay is an exception.
With a population of only 3.4 million, the small Latin American country has a Housing cooperatives networkwhich offer access to permanent and accessible housing to citizens of different income ranges.
An experience that becomes law
Housing cooperatives in Uruguay emerged in the 1960s, during a period of deep economic turbulence.
The first pilot projects presented exceptional results. Funded by a combination of government funds, loans from the Inter -American Bank for Development and Member Contributions, were more economical, faster to build and better quality than conventional housing.
These initial successes played a key role in approving the Uruguay National Housing Law in 1968. This law formally recognized housing cooperatives and introduced a legal framework that supported different models. The most common models that have emerged can be translated roughly as “Savings Cooperatives” e “Entrejuda Cooperatives“.
In the savings model, members join their savings to contribute About 15% of capital investment. This gives them access to a mortgage subsidized by the government to finance the construction. The cooperative then determines how payment responsibilities are distributed to its members. Normally, members buy “social quotas” in the cooperative, equivalent to the cost of the assigned housing unit. If a member decides to abandon the cooperative, his social shares are reimbursed. These quotas are also hereditary, allowing them to be transmitted to the heirs.
On the other hand, the Entrejuda model allows the participation of families without savings, contributing 21 hours a week for construction work. Tasks are attributed to individuals according to their abilities. They can range from manual work to administrative tasks such as the order of building materials.
Despite their differences, both models share a fundamental principle: the terrain and housing units are kept collectively and are permanently removed from the private market.
Usually, once the cooperatives are established, each family should contribute to a monthly rate that covers the payment of state loan and maintenance costs. In return, members have an unlimited and hereditary contract of “use and enjoyment” of a quality apartment. If a member decides to leave, it is partially reimbursed by contributions made over time, usually with a 10% deduction with the cooperative.
This ensures that cooperative housing offers long -term safety and remains accessible, especially for those at the lowest levels of the income scale.
State support and public adhesion
Today, Uruguay has 2197 housing cooperatives, providing houses approximately 5% of the country’s families. About half of them are located in the capital of the country, Montevideo, where they operate 1008 cooperatives. Cooperatives can have from 12 houses up to 700 apartments.
This growth was possible thanks to state support, cooperative federations and non -profit groups.
The state acknowledged that the success of housing cooperatives depended on continuous public support. The National Housing Law has defined the rights and responsibilities of cooperatives. It also outlined the State obligations: supervise operations, establish criteria for financial assistance and provide access to land.
Housing cooperative federations also played a key role. FECOVI, the Federation of Savings Cooperatives, represents more than 100 cooperatives, serving approximately 5000 families. FUCVAM, the Federation of Mutual Aid Cooperatives, is much larger and more active politically, representing More than 35,000 families in 730 cooperatives.
In addition to organizing and defending the right to housing – and human rights in general – FUCVAM offers its associated cooperatives a wide range of support services, including training to reinforce cooperative management, legal advice and conflict mediation.
Finally, a vital pillar of this model is the Technical Assistance Institutesalso recognized by the National Housing Law. These are independent and nonprofit organizations that advise cooperatives.
Its role is crucial: the construction of large housing projects is complex. The vast majority of citizens has no prior experience under construction or project management. The success of the Uruguayan cooperative model would be unthinkable without its support.
From the periphery to the city center
Uruguay housing cooperatives not only expanded, but also evolved in response to new needs and challenges.
In their early years, most cooperatives built low density housing in the outskirts of cities. This approach was widely influenced by the ideals of the Cidade Jardim movement, a late nineteenth -century planning philosophy that prioritized low density housing and a balance between development and green spaces. In Uruguay, there was also a cultural preference for single -family dwellings. And the land was more expensive in urban centers.
These initial cooperatives, however, contributed to the urban expansion, which presents A series of disadvantages. Infrastructure needs to be expanded. Access to jobs and schools is more difficult. There is more traffic. And single -family houses are not efficient soil use.
However, in the 1970s, the Montevideo Historic Center began to suffer abandonment and decay. During this period, the change in the country’s socioeconomic landscape has created a series of new challenges. More people depended on irregular income from informal work, while more single women became heads of family.
In response, housing cooperatives demonstrated a remarkable ability to adapt.
For women, for women
As urban expansion boosted development abroad, Montevideo’s historic center, Ciudad Vieja, lost residents. Its historical buildings were falling apart.
Seeking to revitalize the area without moving the other low -income residents, the city saw housing cooperatives as a solution.
This boosted Creation of 13 mutual help cooperatives In Ciudad Vieja, which now represent approximately 6% of all housing units in the region.
One of the pioneers in this effort was Mujeres Jefas of family, which means women’s heads. Known for the acronym Mujefa, it was founded in 1995 by low -income single mothers. Mujefa introduced a new approach to cooperative housing: conceived, built and managed houses Unique needs of women.
Architect Charna Furman led the initiative. I wanted to overcome the structural inequalities that prevent women from finding safe housing: the financial dependence of men, the role of main caregivers and the absence of housing policies that take the limited access of single women to economic resources.
Staying in Ciudad Vieja was important to the members of Mujefa. Their central location allowed them to be close to their jobs, their children’s schools, health centers, and a united community of friends and family.
However, the project faced major obstacles. The ruined structure that the group acquired in 1991 – an abandoned building and classified as a historical heritage – needed to be transformed into 12 safe and functional apartments.
The cooperative model had to adapt. Municipal authorities temporarily flexible certain regulations to allow old buildings to be renewed as cooperatives. There was also the challenge of organizing vulnerable people – often long -time residents at risk of eviction, employees such as domestic employees or street vendors – in groups that could actively participate in the renovation process. And they had to learn to renew an old building.
Today, 12 women with their children live in the Mujefa cooperative. It is a convincing example of how cooperative housing can go beyond simply giving families a ceiling. Instead, it can be a vehicle for social transformation. Women traditionally excluded from urban planning were able to conceive and build their own homes, creating a safe future for themselves and their children.
Build up, not out
Covivema 5, completed in 2015, was the first mutual assistance cooperative in a central neighborhood of Montevideo. With about 300 residents, it consists of 55 fractions distributed by two buildings.
The members participated in the construction process with the guidance of the Uruguayan Cooperative Center, one of the oldest and respected technical assistance institutes. Architects had to adapt their projects to facilitate the construction of a high building by ordinary people with little experience in construction. The members of the cooperative received specialized training in vertical construction and security protocols. While the members contributed to the construction, qualified labor was hired when necessary.
Members of the cooperative also designed and built Plaza Luisa Cuesta, a public square that created an open space in a densely populated neighborhood for residents to gather and socialize.
Housing cooperatives are neither public nor private. They can be considered an efficient and effective “third way” to provide housing, one that gives residents a right on their homes and provides long -term safety. But its success depends on institutional, technical and financial support.
