REURB and the Environment: Regularization in Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Risk Zones

Urban Land Regularization (REURB) has as its main mission the integration of informal settlements into the legal framework. However, many of these settlements are located in environmentally fragile areas or in geotechnical risk zones.

Reconciling the right to housing (Art. 6 of the Federal Constitution) with the right to an ecologically balanced environment (Art. 225 of the Federal Constitution) is one of the greatest challenges in land regularization.

This article examines how REURB addresses these situations, the legal limits, and the mitigation measures required to balance environmental safety with urban inclusion.

1. Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and REURB

1.1. What APPs Are

As provided in the Forest Code (Law No. 12,651/2012), APPs are areas designated for the preservation of water resources, biodiversity, and soil stability, such as riverbanks, steep slopes, and hilltops.

1.2. Exceptional Regularization

Law No. 13,465/2017 allows REURB in APPs but establishes conditions:

·         Requirement of technical studies;

·         Compensatory or mitigating measures (compensatory planting, containment works, drainage, reforestation);

·         Prohibition in areas of insurmountable risk or incompatible with habitation.

1.3. The Role of the Municipality

It is up to the Municipality to determine whether the occupation may be regularized, consulting environmental agencies and adopting solutions that minimize impacts.

2. Regularization in Risk Areas

2.1. Concept

Areas subject to landslides, floods, erosion, or other phenomena that endanger the lives and property of residents.

2.2. Procedure

·         Preparation of technical safety studies (engineering and geotechnics);

·         Possibility of structural works (retaining walls, drainage, slope stabilization);

·         In severe cases, relocation of families to adequate housing.

2.3. Limit of Regularization

REURB cannot legitimize occupations in areas where human settlement is incompatible with safety.

3. Reconciling Housing and the Environment

Case law and legal scholarship have understood that REURB must be interpreted in a conciliatory, not exclusionary, way:

·         Decent housing is a fundamental right;

·         A balanced environment is also a fundamental right;

·         It is the duty of the Public Administration to reconcile both values, adopting technical and urban planning solutions that minimize damage and guarantee dignity.

4. The Public Prosecutor’s Office and Environmental Oversight

The Public Prosecutor’s Office frequently plays a role in these processes, overseeing whether:

·         The Municipality complied with environmental requirements;

·         Adequate compensation was imposed;

·         The area is not absolutely uninhabitable.

Often, MP intervention results in Conduct Adjustment Agreements (TACs), establishing environmental obligations to be fulfilled before or during REURB.

5. Practical Examples

·         Riverside community: regularized with bank containment works and creation of a linear park.

·         Hillside occupation: part of the area was subject to relocation, while another part received drainage works and retaining walls.

·         Building in a high-income area: only obtained a CRF after Fire Department inspection and the requirement of environmental and urban adjustments.

Conclusion

REURB in APPs and risk areas is not simple. It requires balancing social inclusion with environmental protection, demanding specific technical solutions.

In some cases, regularization will be possible with compensations; in others, relocation of families will be necessary.

What is not acceptable is inertia: leaving entire communities in irregular situations, without legal or environmental security.

Applied responsibly, REURB is an instrument of citizenship and preservation, promoting a fairer and more sustainable city