- Jul 1, 2018
- 560
| TYPE | Infrastructure |
| CLIENT | Argentina |
| PROJECT | Catamarca Housing Project |
| PROJECT COST | 850,000,000.00 |
| COMPLETION DATE | 04/04/2024 |
| PROJECT INFORMATION | Catamarca Housing Project is a community-led and managed housing project involving the mutual-help construction of 326 housing units for formerly homeless members of the MTL Territorial Liberation Movement in Buenos Aires. With over 400 permanent jobs that will be generated from this project, the project represents a symbolic victory in the struggle of low-income families for housing, employment and the right to the city. Aims and Objectives To ensure access by unemployed, formerly homeless households to affordable, decent housing that is low in cost and high in quality To generate employment through a bottom-up process, bringing back a culture of work, solidarity and capacity building. Catamarca Housing Projectt is a community-initiated project involving the construction of 326 housing units for formerly homeless families that did not have access to credit. The project was initiated, built and managed by the MTL movement, organised as the Emetele housing cooperative, with technical, legal, social and financial assistance provided by a multidisciplinary team comprising a lawyer, sociologist, accountant and architects from the Pfeiffer-Zurdo architectural firm. The project is located on a 14,000m2 plot of land that belonged to an old paint factory and comprises a multi-use group of buildings that, in addition to the housing units, includes retail facilities, communal areas, a day nursery and a community radio station. The 326 one-, two- and three-bedroom units are distributed in ten four-storey buildings and part of the old factory has been restored and adapted for residential use. Impact The project will provide access to affordable housing and employment for low-income families who were previously homeless and/or unemployed, with 326 housing units provided for formerly homeless families and 400 permanent jobs generated for previously unemployed members of the MTL movement. Residents will have been trained in building construction and self-management of resources and have been able to access employment opportunities and set up their own small businesses. The project has had a positive impact on the wider community, leading to improvements in infrastructure and the opening of a number of new commercial establishments in the area. The project has paved the way for other cooperatives wishing to carry out similar projects and represents a symbolic victory in the struggle of low-income families for housing, employment and the right to the city. |
| ENCRYPTED | No |
