CINVA-SUDENE Connection: Professional Circulation and Knowledge Diffusion in Housing and Planning in Post-war Latin America

Abstract

This study seeks to highlight the transnational circulation of professionals, as well as their ideas, and knowledge within the fields of Architecture, Engineering, and the Social Sciences, focusing on the connections between the Centro Interamericano de Vivienda y Planeamiento (CINVA) and the Superintendência do Desenvolvimento do Nordeste (SUDENE). The analysis centers on the professional trajectories of Hebe Gonçalves, Carlos Carneiro, and Gerson Sampaio—key figures noted for their movement across Latin American institutions during the 1950s and 1960s, and for their involvement in Brazilian initiatives at the intersection of housing programs and territorial planning. It is hypothesized that their circulation played a role in introducing and consolidating housing issues on SUDENE’s agenda, thereby establishing a point of contact with CINVA’s activities. This analysis reveals Brazil’s integration—and that of its academic and professional circles—into Latin American networks within these fields, as well as the influence of these exchanges on the Northeast region, particularly in Pernambuco.