2: urban issues and challenges

• Describe the North Zone

  -a mostly poor neighbourhood that has roughly 1000 favelas which are run by drug gangs with no police presence within them. Therefore murder is high. The favelas also result in a lot of litter and water pollution

  -Has very little tourist appeal however is home to one of the largest stadium's in South America: Maracanã Stadium

  -has Rio's international airport
• Describe the West zone

  -is the most recently modernised area of Rio with a new middle class neighbourhood, transformed from a lower class area into a wealthy coastal suburb with lots of shopping areas, night life, luxury apartments and tourist facilities (under went gentrification). However the area of Campo Grande is an industrial area with low quality housing

  -was the chosen site for the main Olympic Stadium
• Describe the Centro zone

  -known as the historic core of the city

  -has churches, museums, colonial architecture and contains modern day skyscrapers

  -is the financial centre (has the HQ of huge Brazilian companies)

  -Has Brazil's largest oil and mining company
• Describe the South Zone

  -a richer and prettier part of Rio with dozens of hills, mountains, lagoons and beaches

  -safer then the other zones

  -has day tours and nightlife so tourists are recommended to go here

  -Rio's most exclusive, luxury, famous destination

  -has the largest inequality between rich and poor. Has the largest slum and is called Rochina
• What are the 4 main social challenges in Rio

  -Health care

  -Education

  -Water supply

  -Energy
• How is health care a social challenge in Rio

  In 2013 only 55% of the city had a local family health clinic. Services for pregnant women and the elderly were very poor, especially in the west zone

  Waiting lists can reach 15,000 people and emergency units were shut down due to a lack of money

  In the south of Rio the average life expectancy is 80, in the west zone it is only 45
• What have Rio done to solve health care

  -Authorities have tried to improve health care in the favela of Santa Marta which has a population of 8,000, few roads and is 13km away from the nearest hospital

  - So they had medical staff take a health kit into peoples homes and were able to detect 20 different diseases and treat them. As a result infant mortality has fallen and life expectancy increased
• How is education a social challenge in Rio

  Education is compulsory between the ages of 6-14. In Rio only half of all children continue their education beyond the age of 14

  -Many drop out and some get involved in drug trafficking to make a living and support families

  -Level of school enrolment is low because: a shortage of teachers, low pay for teachers, poor training for teachers shortage of nearby schools and the need to work for the family

  -129,000 students in Rio had classes cancelled at least once between January and October because of outbreaks of violence in the 300 or so public schools in violent areas of the city
• What have Rio done to solve education

  Authorities:

  -encourage local people to volunteer to help in school

  -give school grants to poor families to help meet the cost of keeping their child in school

  -opening private university in the Rochina Favela
• How is water supply a social challenge in Rio

  Around 12% of Rio's population do not have access to running water. It's estimated that 37% of water is lost through leaky pipes, fraud and illegal access.

  -One of the biggest issues for the lack of water is the poor water quality is a result of pollution from sewage and industry. Only half of Rio's wastewater is treated despite the promise to get this to 80% by the Olympic Games

  -A growth in agriculture and hydropower production has complicated the water relations between Sao Paulo and Rio who both share the Paraba do Sol river basin
• What have Rio done to solve water supply

  Seven new water treatments plants were built between 1998 and 2004 and over 300km of pipes were laid

  By 2014 95% of the population had a mains water supply
• Why is energy a social challenge in Rio

  The whole city of Rio suffers from frequent blackouts due to a shortage of electricity. Many people living in the poorer parts of Rio de Janeiro get their electricity by illegally tapping into the main supply which is extremely risky and dangerous

  The majority of Rios energy comes from hydroelectric power so when there is a water crisis such as a drought (in 2015 the country was experiencing the worst drought in 40yrs) there is also an energy crisis
• What have Rio done to solve energy

  Electricity supply has been improved by:

  -installing 60km of new power lines

  -building a new nuclear generator

  -developing the new hydroelectric complex which will increase Rio's supply of electricity by 30%

  -The 2016 Olympic Games stimulated a large scale redevelopment and improvement project for Rios built environment
• What are the environmental issues in Rio

  Air pollution

  Water pollution

  Waste pollution
• What are the causes of air pollution in Rio

  -due to heavy traffic and congestion on roads there is a build up of exhaust fumes

  - mist from the Atlantic mixes with vehicle exhausted fumes and pollutants from factory chimneys

  -high crime rates mean many people prefer to travel by car

  - the number of cars in Rio has grown by over 40% in the last decade
• What are the effects of air pollution in Rio

  -causes 5000 deaths per yr

  - city is often covered in brown smog

  - wastes time for commuters and businesses which slows down economic growth overtime
• What are the solutions to air pollution in Rio

  - expansion of the metro system under Guanbara to provide an alternative, sustainable form of transport

  - new toll roads into the city centre to reduce congestion

  - making coast roads one-way during rush hours to improve traffic flow
• What are the causes of water pollution in Rio

  - ships empty their fuel tanks into the Guanabara bay because there are no facilities to dispose of the fuel properly

  - there have been oil spills from the Petronas oil refinery

  - rivers are polluted by run off from open sewers in the favelas

  - over 50tonnes of industrial waste enters the bay each day
• What are the effects of water pollution in Rio

  -commercial fishing has declined by 90% in the last 20yrs
• What are the solutions to water pollution in Rio

  -12 new sewage works built since 2004,

  -ships fined for illegally discharging fuel

  -5km new sewage pipes
• What are the causes of waste pollution in Rio

  -the worst waste problems are in the favelas. Many are built on steep slopes and have few proper roads so waste collection is difficult
• What are the effects of waste pollution in Rio

  Most waste is dumped and pollutes the water system which causes diseases like cholera and encourages rats
• What are the solutions to waste pollution in Rio

  A power plant has been set up which consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish a day and produces enough electricity for 1000 homes
• What are the types of employment in Rio


  -retail and distribution

  -construction (providing employment for many non-skilled workers)

  -service industries such as finance and banking

  -oil refining and petrochemical industries

  -tourism since Rio is one of the worlds top tourist destinations
• What are the effects of economic growth in Rio?

  -Rio is Brazil's second most important industrial centre

  -The city provides more then 6% of all employment in Brazil

  -The city has one of the highest incomes per head in the country, with the retail and consumer sector being a major source of employment

  -A large population, the financial sector, port facilities and industrial areas have contributed to rapid economic development

  -Oil has been discovered just off the coast and this has encouraged the growth of oil related industries
• What is unemployment like in the favelas?

  -Most work in the informal economy ( jobs in this sector are not secure and are poorly paid )

  -people work as street vendors, maids, drivers or labourers

  -unemployment rates are over 20%
• What is crime like in Rio?

  -Murder, kidnapping, carjacking and armed assault occur regularly

  -powerful gangs control drug trafficking in the favelas
• How is unemployment being solved in Rio?

  The local government is using education to try to reduce youth unemployment. The Schools of Tomorrow programme aims to improve education in the poor and violent areas of the city.

  Courses are also available for adults who have temporarily left education but want to continue their studies.

  Free childcare is available to teenage parents to enable them to return to education
• What are the economic challenges in Rio?

  • Unemployment
  • Crime
• How is crime being solved in Rio?

  In 2013 Pacifying Police Units (UPPs) were established to reclaim favelas from drug dealers

  • Police have taken control of some crime-dominated favelas