Challenges and planning in Rio de Janeiro

Squatter settlements

Rio's , called , began as homes that people built themselves on land they didn't own, often on steep hillsides or by the bay, when the city had no affordable housing for them.

Across Brazil, 16.4 million people lived in favelas and similar communities in 2022 (8.1% of the population), according to the census.
Rocinha, in Rio, is the largest favela in Brazil, with 72,021 residents in 2022.

Many favelas are now well-established neighbourhoods, with brick homes, shops and businesses built up by residents over decades, and strong communities. But many still face challenges.

Key terms

Challenges

Services: some homes lack reliable water, sewers or rubbish collection. Steep, narrow lanes make it hard to lay pipes or get vehicles in.
Unemployment: many people work in the , with low and uncertain incomes.
Crime: armed drug gangs control some favelas. In 2008, the state began placing in favelas, starting with Santa Marta. Crime fell in some areas, but there were complaints of abuse, and the programme was later scaled back.
Environment: much of the city's sewage still flows untreated into Guanabara Bay. Heavy rain can trigger on steep slopes. Traffic congestion causes air pollution.

Key terms

The Favela Bairro Project

The ("favela to neighbourhood") Project, begun by the city in 1994, aimed to upgrade favelas into neighbourhoods of the city, rather than knock them down. The Inter-American Development Bank lent money towards it.

It worked with residents to provide:

paved roads and footpaths, and street lighting;
water supply, sewers and drains;
nurseries, sports areas and community centres;
new homes for families living where landslides or floods were a danger;
help for residents to get legal ownership of their homes.

Its first phase reached about 253,000 residents in 73 communities.

Key terms

How successful was it?

Successes:

A study for the Inter-American Development Bank found that services such as water and sewers improved, with the biggest gains in the poorest areas.
In the second phase, more residents gained legal ownership of their homes than in favelas outside the project.
Residents were involved, and homes were improved rather than destroyed.

Limits:

It reached only some of the city's favelas: the first phase reached 250,000 of about 1.2 million favela residents.
Upgraded services need maintaining, and new informal homes kept being built.
Evaluations had limited data, so its full effects are hard to measure.

Judgement: it improved life in the favelas it reached, but couldn't reach them all.

Exam practice

Plan your own answer first, then open the model answers to see what each level looks like.

9 marks · about 9 minutes

Evaluate how far urban planning has improved the quality of life for the urban poor in a city you have studied.

Evaluate means: Judge strengths and weaknesses or successes and failures, then reach a conclusion.

Link it

Use the facts from:

The Favela Bairro Project (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, From 1994)
Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Present day)

Level 1 (Basic)· 3/9 marks (band 1–3)

The Favela Bairro Project improved favelas in Rio. It added roads and water. It was successful.

Why this level: A named scheme with simple facts, but no evaluation. To reach Level 2: explain what the project did and how it improved quality of life, with figures.

Level 2 (Clear)· 5/9 marks (band 4–6)

Rio's Favela Bairro Project, begun in 1994, upgraded favelas instead of knocking them down. It added paved roads, street lighting, water supply, sewers, nurseries and sports areas, and helped residents gain legal ownership of their homes. Its first phase reached about 253,000 residents in 73 communities.

Why this level: Clear, accurate explanation of the project and who it reached. But it doesn't evaluate its limits. To reach Level 3: weigh its successes against how many it reached and the evidence, then judge how far it improved life.

Level 3 (Detailed)· 8/9 marks (band 7–9)

Rio's Favela Bairro Project, begun by the city government in 1994, aimed to upgrade favelas into neighbourhoods rather than knock them down. It improved life for many: it added paved roads and footpaths, street lighting, water supply, sewers and drains, so disease and flooding were reduced, and nurseries and sports areas gave children safer places to play. Families living where landslides or floods were a danger were rehoused, and residents were helped to gain legal ownership, giving them security and a reason to improve their homes. A bank study found services improved most in the poorest areas. However, its reach was limited: the first phase benefited about 250,000 of Rio's roughly 1.2 million favela residents, and limited data made a full evaluation hard. Overall, urban planning greatly improved quality of life for those it reached, especially in health and security, but it did not reach most of the urban poor, so its success was only partial.

Why this level: Detailed, accurate evidence of improvements and their limits, evaluated with figures, leading to a clear judgement on "how far". This is Level 3.

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