Public-private partnerships (PPPs) aim to bridge gaps between sectors, providing affordable housing in an efficient and timely manner – but taking local context and possible unintended consequences into consideration has proved essential to the efficacy of PPPs. An example of this, São Paulo implemented their Casa Paulista Program in 2012 which aimed to find a private company to design, deliver and maintain 14,000 affordable and market-affordable housing units and infrastructures, located in special social interest zones (ZEIS districts).
Though the aim was 14,000 units divided into four lots, only one developer succeeded, building 3,683 housing units. Though feedback for the program was initially positive, the financial burden of annuity payments and scale of deployment resulted in financial problems for the government. There was also a dramatic increase in land values due to the rapid acquisition of land and speculation of developers.
Source: World bank Group. (2020) Public-Private Partnerships for Investment and Delivery of Affordable Housing in Emerging Market Economies. World Bank, Washington, DC
Link: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/b0122860-0615-5d65-92c1-7681f8f15165