HOUSING AS A CAPABILITY: opportunity, security, and skill in the restructuring of public housing policies

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.9771/ccrh.v39i0.66794

Keywords:

Right to housing, Socially constructed rights, Capabilities approach, Housing policies, Substantive freedoms

Abstract

This article addresses the normative foundations of the right to housing, contrasting natural and socially constructed rights. Methodologically, a qualitative, critical-conceptual approach is adopted, substantiated by a literature review. The research mobilizes Thomas Marshall’s concept of citizenship and Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach to move from philosophical abstraction to the praxis of public policy. It concludes that it is feasible to refute the natural law foundation and, simultaneously, uphold the legal guarantees required for vulnerable populations. To this end, a paradigm shift is postulated, transcending mere material provision to focus on the expansion of substantive freedoms. This transition is structured in three dimensions of intervention and evaluation of public housing policies: opportunity, aiming to dismantle exclusionary institutional arrangements and eligibility structures; security, to guarantee stability of tenure, build resilience to climate events, and avoid forced choices in subsistence; and skills, focused on housing literacy and empowering citizens to plan strategies and claim collective rights.

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Author Biographies

Anderson Vinicíos Branco Lutzer, Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Pesquisador junto ao Grupo Interdisciplinar de Estudos em Gestão e Políticas Públicas, Desenvolvimento, Comunicação e Cidadania na Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Doutor em Desenvolvimento Regional pela Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Unijuí). Publicação recente: Lutzer, A. (2026). Da moradiarecurso à habitação-capacidade: implicações da abordagem de Amartya Sen para o Desenvolvimento Regional. GOT: Revista de Geografia e Ordenamento do Território, (30). Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.17127/got/2025.30.007

Airton Adelar Mueller, Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul

Professor / pesquisador nos Programas de mestrado e doutorado em Desenvolvimento Regional (PPGDR) e Educação nas Ciências na Universidade Regional do Noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. Doutor em Sociologia pela Freie Universität Berlin, Alemanha com título revalidado pela Universidade de São Paulo. Publicação recente: Lutzer, Anderson Vinicios Branco; Mueller, Airton Adelar; Benso, Aline. Habitar a diáspora: o direito à moradia como prática de pertencimento e expressão identitária afrodiaspórica. Mediações - Revista de Ciências Sociais, Londrina, v. 30, p. e53387, 2025. Disponível em: 10.5433/2176-6665.2025v30e53387.

 

CONTRIBUIÇÃO DE AUTORIA:

Anderson Vinicios Branco Lutzer – Conceitualização. Curadoria de dados. Análise formal. Investigação. Metodologia. Administração do projeto. Validação. Visualização. Escrita - esboço original. Escrita - revisão e edição.

Airton Adelar Mueller – Conceitualização. Curadoria de dados. Análise formal. Investigação. Metodologia. Administração do projeto. Validação. Visualização. Escrita - esboço original. Escrita - revisão e edição.

 

DECLARAÇÃO DE DISPONIBILIDADE DE DADOS:

Os dados deste artigo podem ser obtidos mediante solicitação ao autor correspondente.

 

CONFLITO DE INTERESSE

Os(as) autores(as) declaram que não há conflito de interesse.

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Published

2026-07-21

How to Cite

Vinicíos Branco Lutzer, A., & Adelar Mueller, A. (2026). HOUSING AS A CAPABILITY: opportunity, security, and skill in the restructuring of public housing policies. Caderno CRH, 39, e026016. https://doi.org/10.9771/ccrh.v39i0.66794

Issue

Vol. 39 (2026): Publicação Contínua

Section

Artigos

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