Sustainable social housing: The comparison of the Mexican funding program for housing solutions and building sustainability rating systems

Publication date: April 2018
Source:Building and Environment, Volume 133
Author(s): Héctor Saldaña-Márquez, José M. Gómez-Soberón, Susana P. Arredondo-Rea, Diana C. Gámez-García, Ramón Corral-Higuera
In the last decade, Mexico has been prominent among the Upper-middle-income countries (UMC) due to the application of its Funding Program for Housing Solutions (FPHS) in dealing with social housing. This paper shows the results of the evaluations carried out, through the internationally recognized Building Sustainability Rating Systems (BSRS), on different housing units built under this program. It was necessary to carry out a normalization criteria process (NCP) due to the particular characteristics of each BSRS and the complexity they presented in carrying out a comparative analysis. Case studies indicate that housing developed by the FPHS obtained low qualifications according to internationally focused BSRS, with significant deficiencies concerning materials, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and management. However, this study provides indicators of its possible integration in the social housing of countries with characteristics analogous to those of Mexico. Among all indicators, that those referring to the urban environment are capable of being integrated into the social housing. Among the findings, some aspects of the FPHS evaluation process impede the integration of sustainable characteristics in Mexican social housing. On the other hand, the FPHS evaluation model, which gives priority to urban environment aspects above all else, may represent a new paradigm towards the achievement of the sustainable social housing (SSH).

Graphical abstract