Rio De Janerio

• Location


  Rio de Janeiro is located on the Atlantic coast at 23°5 and 43° W
• Importance


  • Until 1960, Rio was the capital of Brazil, now it is Brasilia
  • UNESCO world heritage site
  • Hosted the 2014 World Cup Final and 2016 Olympic Games
  • Global city due to industrial and financial importance
  • 2nd largest city in Brazil
  • Includes hospitals, schools and employment
  • Tourism - statue of Christ
  • Trade of food, clothing and furniture
• The north zone of Rio is poor, the west zone is wealthy
• Social opportunities from urban growth

  • Access to services - health, education, resources (water, energy)
  • Urban industrial areas can be a stimulus for economic development, trade and jobs
• Economic challenges from urban growth

  • Managing slums and squatter settlements
  • Reducing unemployment and crime
  • Managing environmental issues - waste disposal, air pollution, water pollution, traffic congestion
• Favelas


  Legal settlements where people have built homes on land they did not own
• Challenges of squatter settlements

  • Construction
  • Unemployment
  • Services
  • Crime
  • Health
• Favela Bairro Project


  1. Providing materials and skills to improve houses

  2. Building roads

  3. Providing electricity, water and sanitation

  4. Rehousing people in new basic housing

  5. Developing new areas of the city for rehousing

  6. Enforcing evictions in some favelas to allow for development

  7. Introducing self-help schemes for housing development

  8. Providing programs for youths to stop getting into crime
• Successes of Favela Bairro Project

  • Quality of life has improved
  • Mobility has improved
  • Employment prospects improved
• Failures of Favela Bairro Project

  • Budget of $1 billion may not cover every favela
  • Newly-built infrastructure is not being maintained
  • Residents lack skills and resources to make repairs
  • More training needed - literacy
  • Rent rises, poorest inhabitants get worse