John-Henry Matos, a doorman at a Kent Avenue complex in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, believes a win would bring networking opportunities.

WSJ: Finding Beauty at the Door

Mr. Matos recalled the time a tenant set him up with a friend.

WSJ: Finding Beauty at the Door

But HUD officials and the Harvard researchers argue that smokers such as Matos are, in fact, bothering their neighbors and harming the health of those around them.

CNN: Should public housing projects go smoke-free?

"I do want to quit, but at the end of the day, we shouldn't care what others do, " says Esther Matos, 29, who lives and smokes in Lizica's housing project.

CNN: Should public housing projects go smoke-free?

Looking out across the blue ocean in front of the Portuguese embassy in Maputo, Ambassador Mario Godinho de Matos takes a more sanguine view, pointing out that the Portuguese have always been explorers.

BBC: Portuguese find the good life in Mozambique