The Montevideo Habitat Program,

led by the city’s Division of Land and Habitat, is a comprehensive urban improvement program targeting informal settlements and undervalued urban areas. It delivers infrastructure upgrades—paved roads, public lighting, and enhanced public spaces—while reclaiming abandoned properties to dedicate to social and cooperative housing. Rehabilitation of existing homes is supported through microloans and subsidies, coordinated with inter-institutional actors for resettlement schemes. 

Core to its strategy is the coordination of a municipal land portfolio (Cartera de Tierras), facilitating access to urban land for housing purposes. The program also galvanizes cooperative housing based on Uruguayan mutual-aid models, integrating technical assistance institutes that support design, financing, and participatory construction processes, including residents’ contributions of labor and savings (e.g., ≥15% value). Central components—such as Plan Abre—address over 73 vulnerable neighborhoods and benefit thousands of families with community-driven, institutionally backed spatial interventions. This model combines infrastructure, land governance, financing mechanisms, and community participation to reduce urban inequality and foster dignified living environments.