Dynamics in Social Housing as a Survival Strategy

In the face of economic disparities, housing as a fundamental right highlights differences and social stratification. From the perspective of complexity, factors such as location, distance from development hubs, and designs that standardize needs accentuate weaknesses in its conception. The new realities of living in housing after the pandemic lead us to rethink new design approaches where housing and work can be combined. This research analyzes the case of the Ciudad Alegría Social Housing Program, located in the city of Loja, Ecuador. The diagnostic method determined that 24% of the homes have commercial projections as a survival strategy. While these spatial patterns reduce the levels of habitability in the homes, they also produce benefits such as proximity between home and work, savings in transportation costs, interaction with neighbors, and mixed uses. These facts reflect gaps in the architectural design process, which fails to consider both service providers and users in decision-making in the design of VIS programs, as well as the need for this phenomenon to be elevated to public policy.