rio housing- strategies

Question 1

poor housing and services

Answer 1

Houses in favelas are built illegally and have few rights to stay when the land is cleared for development by the government e.g. Brazil 2014 World Cup/2016 Olympics

About 12% of the households in Rio do not have running water, around 50% have an indoor toilet, over 30% have no sewage connections and 30% have no electricity

Sewers are often open drains running at street level, creating a health hazard

Many access drinking water by tapping into a city water main (often found at the bottom of steep slopes) and for some this means making many long and arduous trips to collect water

Residents use illegal connections known as ‘gatos’ to overhead pylons to secure electricity, which is very dangerous

This can cause fires to start and people to be killed by electrocution

Rubbish is either incinerated (Burned) or taken to the nearest road for the city council to collect

Incinerating rubbish can set fire to nearby wooden houses and the rubbish left for collection can be left for long periods of time

This rubbish begins to rot, smell and become a source of disease

Question 2

Overcrowding and poor healthcare

Answer 2

Rio’s favelas are incredibly overcrowded

On average 37,000 people are crammed into each square kilometre of favela

With the poor sanitation, diseases such as dengue fever spreads quickly

As a result the infant mortality rate is 50% higher in the Favelas than anywhere else in Rio Many live in poverty and cannot afford to see a doctor or buy medicines, therefore death rates are high

The life expectancy in a Rio favela is only 56. Infant mortality rates are also high: 50 infants per 1000 will not reach the age of one

Question 3

Landslides

Answer 3

Favelas are crammed onto steep hillsides which are unsuitable places for housing

Tropical storms can lead to landslides, have destroyed many homes and swept their residents to their deaths

Question 4

Crime Rates

Answer 4

Rio’s favelas are controlled by criminal gangs who are involved in drug trafficking, gun crime, bank robberies, kidnapping and murder – 80 people are killed each day in Rio

Roçinha is one of Rio’s most feared favelas and the police hardly ever patrol on foot unless they are heavily armed (and sometimes use armoured cars)

Tourists visiting the popular Copacabana or Ipanema Beach are told to bring expensive valuables as muggings, pick pocketing in these areas are likely