The challenge of implementing social land regularization - REURB-S

The case of the vulnerable territory of Vila Feliz – Londrina/Paraná

Abstract

Objective – To analyze the socioeconomic and environmental conditions of the vulnerable territory of Vila Feliz, in Londrina (PR), highlighting the challenges of implementing land regularization in the public interest in this area.

Methodology – The qualitative and exploratory research sought to initially and systematically understand the multiple dimensions of land use by low-income families and the actions of different agents producing the urban space. Data from secondary sources (bibliographic and documentary) and primary sources were used, obtained through semi-structured interviews conducted in August 2024 with 38 heads of households in the Vila Feliz territory in Londrina (PR).

Originality/Relevance – The study is relevant because it reveals the mismatch between the broad legal framework that guarantees the right to housing and the city and the reality of segregation, informality, and vulnerability experienced by low-income populations in territories such as Vila Feliz, in Londrina. By analyzing this territory and discussing the implementation of REURB-S as an instrument to combat socio-environmental injustice, the study seeks to contribute theoretical and practical insights for integrated urban planning, municipal management, and the actions of social movements in defense of the right to the city and decent housing.

Results – The main results indicate that Law No. 13,465, by introducing land legitimization, offers a consistent legal instrument to ensure real property rights and increase the value of properties in informal territories, in conjunction with the urban, environmental, and social measures of REURB-S. However, it was evident that its implementation is limited by local power struggles, the absence of more incisive action by public management, and the population's lack of knowledge about the regularization process, which reinforces the centrality of political will and social mobilization for the social function of property to be realized in the daily lives of families.

Theoretical/Methodological Contributions – By taking the vulnerable territory of Vila Feliz, in Londrina (PR), as an empirical field of analysis and problematization, this study seeks to contribute to the debate on the right to the city and socio-environmental justice.

Social and Environmental Contributions – The articulation between the diagnosis of the socioeconomic and environmental conditions experienced by families and the critical discussion on the applicability of REURB-S and the current urban legal framework highlighted the limits and potential of land regularization of social interest as an instrument for tackling urban informality. Thus, the work offers theoretical-analytical and propositional subsidies for both urban planning and the formulation and revision of public policies for social housing, reinforcing the centrality of popular territories in the construction of more just, democratic, and socially inclusive cities.