LabHab FAU-USP

What LabHab FAU-USP does

LabHab (Laboratório de Habitação e Assentamentos Humanos) is an interdisciplinary academic research laboratory housed at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo (FAU-USP) in São Paulo, Brazil. Its intellectual roots trace to the 1979 foundational work "A Produção Capitalista da Casa (e da Cidade) no Brasil Industrial" organized by Erminia Maricato, and the lab operates today across research, teaching, and extension activities focused on housing precarity, urban production, and socio-environmental challenges in contemporary Brazil. Since 2024 it serves as the executive institution (sede) of the INCT Produção da Casa e da Cidade, a National Institute of Science and Technology funded under CNPq Call No. 58/2022 and coordinated with seven other Brazilian universities.

The lab's offerings consist of research programs (self-construction, state housing production, real estate production, and urban studies at the periphery of capitalism) and a Biblioteca (Library) repository of books, articles, theses, and dissertations. It distributes work via academic publications, extension projects with communities and municipal governments, and organic social channels (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook) plus an email newsletter. There is no commercial product, no API, and no disclosed pricing model; the unit is non-commercial and funded entirely by Brazilian public science agencies (CNPq, CAPES, FNDCT/MCTI, FAPESP).

LabHab is governed as a university research unit rather than a commercial enterprise, with revenue undisclosed and approximately six personnel listed in firmographics. Its strategic direction is set by grant-funded research agendas and coordinated with the INCT network rather than market or investor signals, and it serves academic researchers, urban policymakers, and social-housing organizations rather than paying customers.

Name

LabHab FAU-USP

Legal name

Laboratório de Habitação e Assentamentos Humanos (LabHab)

Website

https://labhab.fau.usp.br

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LabHab is an interdisciplinary academic research laboratory at the University of São Paulo's Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism that studies Brazilian housing precarity and urban production, and since 2024 has coordinated the multi-institution INCT Produção da Casa e da Cidade.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Research Universities with Multi-Campus Systems (EDAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Research Collaboration & Joint Labs (International Partnerships) (EDAIABAC)

Keywords

• Urban housing research
• Academic research services
• Urban planning studies
• Social housing policy
• Architecture research

Headquarters

HQ city

São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

LabHab FAU-USP is an interdisciplinary academic research laboratory at the University of São Paulo dedicated to research, teaching, and extension on housing, urban, and environmental challenges in contemporary Brazil. Its core offerings are organized into four research axes (self-construction, state housing production, real estate production, and urban studies at the periphery of capitalism), the INCT Produção da Casa e da Cidade national research network hosted since 2024, and a Biblioteca publication repository.

Product overview

LabHab FAU-USP is an interdisciplinary research laboratory dedicated to research, teaching, and extension activities focused on housing, urban, and environmental challenges. The institution is not a commercial product company but rather an academic research center. It hosts the INCT Produção da Casa e da Cidade (National Institute of Science and Technology) and maintains a Biblioteca (Library) repository of publications. The main offerings are research programs organized across four axes: self-construction, state housing production, real estate production, and urban studies at the periphery of capitalism.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• INCT Produção da Casa e da Cidade (National Institute of Science and Technology — Production of the House and the City) National Institute of Science and Technology hosted by LabHab since 2024, focused on deepening knowledge about urban production in contemporary Brazil, analyzing the interaction between State, market and social organization in financialized capitalism. Aggregates eight Brazilian research institutions.
• Biblioteca (Library) Publication repository containing books, articles, theses, dissertations, and other academic products generated by LabHab's research activities.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo e de Design da Universidade de São Paulo (FAU-USP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024FAU-USP serves as the executive institution and headquarters (sede) of the INCT Produção da Casa e da Cidade, coordinating research activities across all participating institutions.
• Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas da Universidade Federal do ABC (CECS/UFABC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating institution in the INCT focusing on engineering, modeling and applied social sciences research on urban production.
• Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo (IAU USP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating research institution in the INCT focused on architecture and urban planning studies.
• Laboratório Estado, Trabalho, Território e Natureza do Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (ETTERN/IPPUR/UFRJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating institution focusing on state, labor, territory and nature studies within the INCT.
• Laboratório Cidades na Amazônia da Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade Federal do Pará (LABCAM/FAU UFPA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating institution studying cities in the Amazon region within the INCT framework.
• Faculdade de Arquitetura, Artes, Comunicação e Design da Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (FAAC UNESP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating institution in the INCT from UNESP focusing on architecture and urban studies.
• Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional da Faculdade de Ciências Econômicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Cedeplar/FACE/UFMG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating institution in the INCT focused on regional development and planning studies.
• Laboratório de Estudos e Projetos Urbanos e Regionais da Universidade Federal do ABC (LEPUR/UFABC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating laboratory in the INCT focusing on urban and regional studies.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Centro de Estudos da Metrópole (CEM): Brazilian interdisciplinary research center, formerly at UNICAMP and now at UFABC, focused on metropolitan dynamics, social inequalities, and urban policy in Brazil - directly comparable to LabHab's housing and urban production mandate.
• Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS), Erasmus University Rotterdam: International urban development research and training institute specializing in housing, urban planning, and policy evaluation in developing-country contexts - directly comparable in remit, interdisciplinary model, and academic-policy interface.
• MIT Urban Risk Lab: MIT-hosted research lab investigating urban risk, informality, and housing in the Global South including Latin America - directly comparable as an academic, interdisciplinary research lab housed in a leading architecture/urbanism faculty.
• UCL The Bartlett - Development Planning Unit (DPU): Internationally recognized academic unit at UCL focused on urban development planning, housing informality, and urban policy in the Global South - a directly comparable university-based research lab whose mandate to inform urban policy practice mirrors LabHab's.
• Observatório das Metrópoles: Brazilian network of researchers and institutions producing studies on Brazilian metropolises; shares the explicit academic-research-and-policy-evaluation remit that defines LabHab, including housing informality and metropolitan governance.
• Núcleo de Estudos Urbanos (NEU/UFRGS): Brazilian urban studies research group at UFRGS focused on urbanization, housing policy, and social movements - a directly comparable academic unit producing peer-reviewed research on Brazilian housing and urban challenges.

Broad incumbents

• IPEA - Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada: Brazilian federal government research institute producing applied research on economic and social policy including housing, urban development, and territorial planning - functions as a broader incumbent in the same evidence-for-policy space as LabHab.
• Lincoln Institute of Land Policy: US-based nonprofit research organization focused on land policy, urban planning, and housing finance - a larger global incumbent in the urban-policy-evaluation niche that LabHab occupies at a national/Brazilian scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/labhabusp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/labhabusp
• Instagraminstagram.com/labhabusp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about LabHab FAU-USP