Assessment of SRU’s Contribution for Housing Rehabilitation and the Rented Sector: A Case-Study and some Methodological Proposals

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an assessment work of the contributions of Porto’s Urban Rehabilitation Society – Porto Vivo – for housing rehabilitation and the rented sector. The starting point is the need for monitoring Portuguese SRU’s activities, since their legal framework was established some years ago. First of all, an assessment matrix is proposed, which considers SRU’s main goals and the most significant contextual dimensions for its interpretation. Then, the case-study is presented, exploring a diverse range of information to analyze SRU’s activities. Even though Porto Vivo appears to be partially responsible for a growth of interest in housing rehabilitation, its action doesn’t seem to be able to overcome local, regional and national constraints to Porto’s housing rehabilitation process.