This research investigates recently adopted housing policies within the Brazilian metropolitan context. It also analyzes the main features of popular housing alternatives in the metropolises. The study counts on primary data collected from municipal public agencies and relating to housing policies and other housing alternatives, and geocoded demographic information that can be overlaid with census data. By the use of Geographical Information Systems, the research can produce a profile of the population living in each of the alternatives – shanty towns (favelas) and public housing projects – and problematize the literature on urban studies and urban sociology.