São Paulo's micro-houses keeping homeless families off the streets

25 August 2023

Katy Watson

BBC South America correspondent

Rows of tents have sprung up underneath the elevated highway in São Paulo

BBC Homeless people sheltering under an elevated highway in São Paulo — Rows of tents have sprung up underneath the elevated highway in São Paulo

The minhocão is one of São Paulo's most famous landmarks. An elevated highway that snakes its way through the centre of the city, it weaves through the tightly packed apartment buildings to connect the east to the west.

The road's official name is the Elevado Presidente João Goulart. But people here prefer to call it by its nickname, the minhocão, a reference to a giant mythical beast that roamed the forests of South America.

As much as it dominates the city with its sheer size, the minhocão also provides shelter for a growing number of people.

For underneath the elevated road, more and more homeless families are erecting tents, driven out of their homes by rising rent and having to sleep rough.

Many others have to make do with blankets handed to them by the city council.

The blankets are all that some of those living on the street have to shield themselves from the elements

Men huddled under blankets in São Paulo — The blankets are all that some of those living on the street have to shield themselves from the elements

And every day gets harder as the winter sets in.

São Paulo's authorities estimate around 34,000 people are sleeping rough on the streets this year while figures from the Federal University of Minas Gerais put the number closer to 50,000.

The homeless population has soared more than 31% since the pandemic, and the number of families sleeping rough has risen 111% in the same time period, according to the city council.

With growing numbers of people needing help, the traditional strategies of soup kitchens and shelters are falling short.

So this year the city has come up with a new temporary solution: the micro-house.

The first village of micro-houses was built close to the banks of the Tiete River, in the neighbourhood of Canindé.

The tiny homes were placed around a playground

Blue container houses arranged in a square with a playground in the middle — The tiny homes were placed around a playground

Home to one of São Paulo's original favelas, today the site houses 20 or so families, each living in a little box that looks similar to a shipping container and measures 18 sq m.

A square with a playground gives the area a community feel. Children are playing with toys, their parents sitting on benches and watching on.

The aim is to build a total of 1,000 such houses across the city by the end of the year, housing 4,000 people.

"It's a way of looking after people based on the well-known international concept of Housing First, offering housing as the first step in helping to get them back on their feet," explains Carlos Bezerra Junior, who is the social welfare secretary at São Paulo City Hall, which is in charge of the project.

Daniela Martins, 30, walks me around her micro-house.

Daniela and Rafael share their 18 sq m house with their two young children

Daniela, Rafael and their two young children stand in front of their tiny house — Daniela and Rafael share their 18 sq m house with their two young children

She shares a double bed with her husband Rafael, 32, and their four-year-old daughter Sofia. On the opposite wall, there's a cot for three-month-old baby Henri.

The corner kitchen has a small stove, a sink and a fridge, and next to it is a simple bathroom.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the family hard. Rafael lost his job as a sales assistant and Daniela's work as a cleaner dried up.

They lived in a shelter for eight months before this opportunity came up.

The home is small but it is giving the family a chance to start afresh

Daniela in her micro-house — The home is small but it is giving the family a chance to start afresh

"This is a place where we are trying to get back to living in society, to be human again, you know":[]}