Seu Francisco, who has lived in Vale Encantado for 73 years, said life in the community has never been easy. Growing up, his house didn’t have electricity or running water, and he slept on a bed of banana leaves. He was forced to stop his studies due to the family’s unstable economic situation. In addition, the community’s location within the forest, despite being in the heart of the city, makes movement difficult even to this day. The nearest bus stop is five kilometers away. The other option is alternative, “precarious” transportation provided by one of the members of the community.

Yet despite many difficulties the community has survived and residents are enamored with it. It is a close-knit community of 140, made up of hard workers with a passion for preserving the environment. “I feel happiness when I look at the forest. When we leave I’m crazy to come back,” stated Seu Francisco. The community cares for the land and the trees, and it comes together to protect it.

The residents have begun creative and sustainable projects to preserve the environment as well as improve their own livelihood. They grow many of their own organic vegetables and fruits on the land, in public rights-of-way where everyone can pick and eat. Many of these are cooked in unique combinations and served to visitors who come to witness the sustainable community. They do not expand their houses because they realize that more construction would lead to destruction of their environment. One house had solar panels installed last year, as a pilot project for expansion to the rest of the community.

Residents have plans to implement suspended vegetable-gardens made of bamboo structures. The gardens will generate food for residents, as well as tourists who come to visit the sustainable community. This project will hopefully turn into a model they can share with communities nearby.

Vale Encantado is positive and optimistic about the future. From solar panels, to treating sewerage, the opportunities to improve sustainability are endless. They will also be hosting a music festival, Festival Encantado, from June 15-17, prior to Rio+20 to showcase the talent and potential of local residents.

Otávio Barros, President of the Vale Encantado Cooperative that coordinates sustainability initiatives and tours in the community, said that it is important to show neighborhoods across the city that it is possible to develop this type of work by modeling it in smaller communities. Developing the land for the profits of larger construction companies and condominiums would destroy the delicate balance residents have worked so hard to maintain.

Vale Encantado is one of eight communities to be featured in Catalytic Communities’ film, “Favelas as a Sustainable Model,” to be launched during the Rio+20’s People’s Summit in June.

Original published in Viva Favela here.

It was January. A hot, sunny Saturday. The thermometer marked 41°C (106°F). Everything suggested that this would be a perfect day at the beach. And it was, except for those who decided to get together in the neighborhood of Rocha Miranda, a Rio suburb, where the 3rd Community Conference on Environmental Health took place. The conference counted with the presence of City Councilman Edson da Creatinina, chairman of Rio+20’s Parliamentary Commission, as well as members of the municipal Environment Secretary. At the event, environmental activists, representatives of residents associations from various favela communities across Rio and, most importantly, the residents themselves, all collectively discussed and identified possible procedures and strategies that would improve quality of life in favelas (at least with regard to the environment).

The first Conference, held in 2008, and the 2nd, in 2009, resulted in the creation of the Rio Charter and the Acari Charter, respectively. The documents contained important requests to the government, as well as possible solutions to environmental issues – discussed and decided upon by participants. At this year’s event, the Favela Communities Charter was issued, which will be delivered during the Rio+20 People’s Summit. With this the 3rd Conference plays a vital role: bringing the voices of the favelas to Rio+20.

Themes such as waste and where it ends up, community reforestation and temperature rises were debated by all those present. There’s a clear goal behind this mobilization, as NEPP (Núcleo Ecológico Pedras Preciosas) President Juscelino Porto explains: “We are here to engage in the Rio+20 Conference. Participants from around the world coming to the conference generally don’t look to the movement happening in favelas. We have a special perspective about what goes on in favela communities and the difficulties residents face,” he says. Juscelino, also an initiator of the Community Conference, concludes: “We will continue our efforts to expand environmental awareness; we are fighting for the cause to protect our planet and we will not give up.”

The event received support and participation of Pan-Americana, a chemical company set up in the region of Honório Gurgel that embraced NEPP’s cause. Tião Santos, another supporter representing Viva Rio, called attention to the fact that “Rio+20 is already here, which means twenty years have passed since Rio92. If we reexamine all the agreements made during Rio92 from a social, cultural and governmental point of view, and evaluate what has in fact been accomplished, the outcome is quite unfavorable.” Tião further stresses the importance of collectivity in winning the environmental cause. “We are having the Official Summit and the People’s Summit; both will count with a range of street mobilizations where social movements, federations, associations and committees will carry out a fundamental purpose in acting effectively and in an organized way to influence the activities of the Official Summit.”

From its first edition to this day, the Community Conference has distributed over 36,000 saplings, including those of endangered species such as Brazilwood (pau-brasil). Our goal is that, in ten years, some of these saplings will already be trees helping to alleviate temperature rise.

What favela communities can do – and they are already doing – is to acquire this preoccupation and demand a say in the decisions being made. However, we know how difficult it is for us to be heard or even consulted when it comes to the environment. Regardless of these obstacles, favelas have a voice. And not only that, but we have arms that plow land, hands that plant and collect seeds and legs that walk tirelessly all day long, without polluting a thing.

For more information on community efforts and the environmental question:

verdejar.org.br

raizesemmovimento.org.br

mudancasclimaticas.andi.org.br

Rumor has it that the construction site and work being done are in a risky area, and that the soil is too unstable for such heavy a job – because, despite the hotel to-be having only two floors, there will also be rooftop pool.

And, behold: on Wednesday, an article was published by the newspaper O Globo in which the architect exposed his innovative vision: “Vidigal was always the senzala (slave quarters) of the great house of Ipanema and Leblon. Now everyone can explore the area and discover what’s in the area, which is wonderful.”

Using that old interpretation technique that I learned in primary school, I now analyze his words:

“Now everyone can explore the area and discover what’s in the region”: I can point out two inaccuracies there. The first is that not “everybody” can attend a 5 star “luxury” hotel. And, in fact, many people who are really looking for a Vidigal for “everyone” have been working against real estate overvaluation, the now-famous “white removal” (gentrification), which subtly pushes residents away from the community.

It is important to let people know that “everybody” can ALREADY discover the wonders of Vidigal–its walking trails, its bars, restaurants, festivals and nightlife, without the presence of said hotel. It’s all here and there are many people coming up the hill. Even more than the present road infrastructure can support, actually.

Next, “slaves of the big house of Ipanema”: this shows a somewhat colonial and particularly ignorant vision of the Vidigal community. The architect might not know of the rich cultural life that has always existed here, ever since the hill was occupied… the organized dances of the Águia Futebol Clube (Eagle Football Club) which congested the former Estrada do Tambá (Tambá Road) – currently known as Estrada Presidente Goulart – when people from middle class neighborhoods went up the hill, as they still do today, benefitting from the cultural life in Vidigal. You may not have heard of our celebrations, which, combined, can attract up to 1200 people in one night. The Lamparina (or Luv) parties and the festivities of Alto Vidigal, right there on Arvrão.

Yet another mention that deeply bothered me was saying that the new construction “is playing a role in sustainability,” and that it is “innovative and will thus help the people around learn of recycling and reusing possibilities,” as said Mr. Antonio Rodriguez, a business partner of Pellegrino. Perhaps he should be introduced to the activities of Sitiê Vidigal, where trash becomes furniture, or even to Wilson Alexandre, who built an entire residential condominium made with recycled material (photo).

The Vidigal Residents Association also issued its opinion. They are in favor of external investment that helps develop local tourism. However, due to Vidigal’s current infrastructure, they question the development of “super projects” like this one.

I am a resident who’s happy with Vidigal’s economic growth, but also offended by the limited and colonialist vision expressed by Mr. Hélio Pellegrino.

*************

Two years on from the first announcements that their houses would be cleared to make way for World Cup 2014 developments, residents of Favela do Metrô are still living through the brutal, drawn out destruction of their community.

A stone’s throw from the world famous Maracanã stadium, Favela do Metrô was founded 33 years ago by workers from the Northeast of Brazil hired to build the adjacent Maracanã metro station from which the favela takes its name. Situated at the foot of the much larger and well-known Mangueira favela, Metrô was in 2010 home to over 700 families and 126 businesses, mostly auto repairs and mechanics that line the main highway.

Speaking in the forecourt entrance to the community, in front of a wall marked ‘[Mayor] Eduardo Pães and [Housing Secretary] Bittar [are] enemies of the people,’ Francecleide Costa, president of the Favela do Metrô Resident’s Association explains the demoralizing process the community has undergone: “In July 2010 City officials entered the community spraypainting numbers on the houses, making notes and taking photos. We realized we were going to have to leave. We didn’t know what to do.”

Standing near a reeking, overflowing Comlurb garbage skip, left abandoned by the City which has ceased providing basic municipal services, despite 300 families still on site, Francecleide continues: “People have their whole lives here, their house, school, work, and then someone comes along saying you don’t have the right to live here anymore.”

Official announcements and pressure to leave followed, with replacement housing offered under the Minha Casa Minha Vida iniative in the West Zone neighborhood of Cosmos, over 70km from Favela do Metrô. Buckling under pressure, 107 families moved to Cosmos in December 2010.

Community resistance aided by the state’s public defenders office, the Catholic church, and international press attention secured replacement housing nearby in the new Mangueira 1 and 2 apartment developments. 248 families moved to Mangueira 1 last year, with remaining residents scheduled to be moved either to Mangueira 2, due for completion in the next couple of months, or at the next metro stop in Triagem.

Whilst residents have fought evictions, the City has gone ahead demolishing houses left behind by residents taken to Cosmos and Mangueira 1. Currently, the skeleton of a once vibrant community lives precariously amidst the rubble.

Walking through the community, washing lines hang over the garbage and rubble where neighbor’s houses once stood. Francecleide laments the current situation: “Light (the electricity utility) and Comlurb (waste collection) don’t come here anymore. We have to call and call to get them to take away the garbage piles. It’s very difficult to live with. It’s ugly and dirty. There are lots of mosquitos, Dengue and rats. I run through here at night because I’m terrified of the rats.”

Abandoned and half demolished houses have attracted homeless people to the community. “A lot of people have come trying to sign up for relocations. It creates a lot of tensions in the community. They don’t help with community trash collection. They just make things worse.”

Walking further away from the metro station, the number of houses standing decreases, leaving remaining residents isolated among cleared spaces filled with rubble and semi-demolished structures where drug use, prostitution and robbery have become commonplace at night. 78 year old Sebastiane de Souza was robbed at her home, currently opening out onto a large cleared space. “I’m scared to go out,” she says. “We’re alone here. We’re in God’s hands now.”

Approximately half the community has already left. Of those that moved to Cosmos, the dislocation from their places of work, as well as friends and schools, has been difficult.

Sebastião had lived in the community for 25 years before moving to Cosmos in 2010. Pointing to the cleared area where his home once stood, he says “Everything I have is here. I work here and now I have to leave at 5am to get here on time.” He goes on, “[The authorities] have thrown us to the side.”

Following the initial abrupt eviction of 107 families to Cosmos, the 600 or so remaining families resisted, counting on help from the State Public Defenders and the Catholic Church. The international media and human rights organizations also brought attention to their struggle.

As a result, others have been moved close by, to the 248-unit Mangueira 1 housing complex. Some complain of poor construction. Rosa Silveira, also a resident for 25 years, moved to Mangueira 1 fourteen months ago. She says: “I used to have a good house with a garage. They removed us for nothing. I wanted it to be better. There are cracks in my apartment and when it rains there are leaks. It’s difficult. A lot of people are angry.”

For those left living in the half-demolished favela, it’s a case of waiting for Mangeira 2 and housing in Triagem. Francecleide believes the destruction of houses and subsequent neglect, as well as the removal of community leaders, are part of a strategy to weaken resistance of those that want to stay. It has worked. Francecleide, who exudes dignified strength as she guides us through the community she’s fought to save, admits to being overwhelmed by the situation. “I never thought I’d say this but I’m ready to leave,” she says. “It’s unbearable and it hurts a lot.”

The actual plans for the area after the final evictions haven’t been made public, however it’s believed to become a parking lot in preparation for the 2014 World Cup.

“For me, the World Cup means messing with the poor and taking away people’s rights,” says Franceleide, going on to cite the evictions in townships in South Africa for the 2010 Cup. She pauses. “But we only really feel it when it’s us, right?”

Made visible for the first time around 40 years ago in Bhutan, the GNH index – Gross National Happiness – is an alternative to the GDP – Gross Domestic Product – and endeavors to measure a country’s development rate through non-monetary activities, such as general well-being, balanced time use, freedom of expression, family relationships and the relationship with the environment.

Last Friday, May 4, a news report produced by the Rio Reporter TV program, appeared on television talking of the GNH, with the participation of economist and Cieds President Vandré Brilhante. The TV station’s request for the guest speaker arose in view of Vandré’s participation as a member of the Brazilian committee in the United Nations’ official discussion on the theme, which occurred in early April in New York.

In an interview to TV Brasil, Vandré said that happiness indicators could be adapted to Brazil’s reality. “Brazil certainly can adopt Bhutan’s model, determining that its people’s happiness is related to access to health care, education, security and balance of time for work and for personal leisure.”

Cieds, in partnership with the the Future Vision Institute, is organizing a seminar entitled Happiness: New Indicators for Development, one of the activities occurring in parallel to the Rio+20 Conference. The seminar is expected to happen on June 19. The TV Brasil piece, which also includes an interview with the creator of Myfuncity – an application that measures the population’s satisfaction with local living surroundings with the intent of orienting public policies – can be seen here:

Citizen Participation

Democracies require some degree of public involvement. Citizen participation is a complicated concept, because it is not a well-defined ‘thing’ but rather a scale of different degrees of inclusion of citizens in democratic decision-making processes. It runs along a continuum, from near zero inclusion in dictatorships, to greater inclusion in democratic states.

But there is much discussion about the place for citizens along the continuum of a nation’s affairs. In some places there is even confusion of ‘consumer’ with ‘citizen,’ some believing participation in the market is a viable primary vehicle for democratic expression. More common, however, is the premise that participation should be realized mainly through elections. In this case it is believed that showing up to vote every 4 years suffices, if there is a diverse party or candidate pool, large numbers of voters head to the polls, and the election process is generally well carried out.

The problem with both of these approaches is that they issue a severely limited role for citizenship. The market reduces citizens to consumers, expressing their wishes solely through consumption of goods and services, offering them little true influence on the creation or allocation process. This also assumes that those holding wealth (and thus consuming more) should have more ‘say.’

An elections-focused approach limits participation to the electoral process, seeing citizenship as expression solely in the political arena on a fixed schedule, which consequently also facilitate electioneering (actions by politicians made specifically to sway the vote).

A third approach exists, however, which serves to deepen democracy and move away from this dichotomy. This approach holds that in order to produce efficient and effective policy results citizens need to be included throughout the decision-making processes that affect their lives.

Participation under the UPP in Vidigal

The UPP Social, the social complement to policing offered by the UPP pacification policy which has already been introduced in some two dozen of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, is presented under the banner of this “deeper approach.” One of the program’s three primary goals is to “involve residents of the community in the process of integrating them into the city at large.”

Since February I have been actively attending UPP Social participatory meetings in Vidigal, a particularly picturesque community overlooking Leblon beach in Rio’s South Zone.

Conversations between the community and the UPP take several forms, primary of which are meetings between the community and those responsible for the UPP Social program. It is at these meetings that the lack of substantive interaction between the UPP and residents of the favela is most visible.

On February 15th I went to Vidigal to join in one of these meetings between the community and the UPP social, only to be informed on arrival that the meeting had been rescheduled for the next day. This surprised me as it did the other thirty people that had shown up expecting to attend the meeting.

I returned the next day to find the meeting happening, without the presence of any of the UPP Social representatives, who had canceled half an hour before the meeting.

March 2nd there was another attempt, this time with the presence of UPP Social officials. The meeting took place in the building of the well-known Nós do Morro NGO in Vidigal. The space normally used for rehearsals was filled with some 120 chairs. The room was packed, with people standing in the back. The personnel of the UPP Social program introduced themselves and explained they were there “to initiate an exchange of ideas between the government and residents of Vidigal and Chácara do Céu.” A PowerPoint presentation was made by the UPP Social team.

The first interaction between the public and UPP Social team occurs when a slide displays the estimated population living in the two communities. According to data in the hands of the government officials, the total comes out to 10,372 residents in the two communities combined. When discussion erupts it is cut off by Ricardo Henriques, head of the UPP Social and President of the Instituto Pereira Passos (IPP), with the words, “These are the numbers of the IPP and the IBGE (Brazilian census bureau), and they are right.”

When I speak to one of the community leaders after the meeting about the number of people living in Vidigal and Chácara do Céu he tells me that to him, “The government uses these low estimates because fewer people means having to invest less resources. And as our neighbor (Rocinha) is somewhat of a problem child, they prefer to put their resources, time and energy into that community. We are being punished for being smaller and better organized.”

A second conflict that arises is the difference in priorities held by the UPP Social and the community. The UPP Social has determined the focus should be on improving garbage collection, the formalization of payments for electricity (whereby residents now pay their electricity and other utility bills), and the improvement and renovation of public space.

The three primary demands of the community, however, are education, access to health care and attitude of the police towards the inhabitants of Vidigal and Chácara do Céu. Several representatives of the community spoke about the attitude of the UPP police officers being the same as that of the ‘normal’ police that interacted with the community when it was still controlled by drug gangs.

As one resident of Vidigal and representative of the youth movement “Cidade Unida” (United City) said during the question rounds, “We had expected the attitude of the UPP officers to be different. We had expected them to treat us with more respect, yet the other day I saw one police officer put a 10 year old boy against the wall to body search him, which is illegal. And every day I see the police cars passing with the loops of their guns sticking out of the window, pointing at whomever happens to be passing by on the street. These attitudes scare us and make us doubt all these beautiful words of ‘dialogue’ and ‘working together’ that have been expressed in this meeting by the UPP Social team.”

Effective participation is not happening because even though the UPP Social program states an intention to increase dialogue and participation of favela residents, this is only one of its three aims, and effective participation would imply a deliberative contemplation over the other priorities. The other two aims of the UPP are (1) to improve security (for those within but also outside of the favelas) by “taking back control of the communities from the gangs,” and (2) to formalize and integrate the favela communities into the formal city by providing missing public services. Rather than recognizing that effective deliberative participation is an essential ingredient for the successful implementation of these other two aims, governing officials view it as a distraction and a box to be ticked in the process of implementing other priorities.

At the meeting in Vidigal this became evident when the community formulated their main issues to be tackled (education, health, police conduct) only to be told by Tiago, the UPP Social official responsible for all issues concerning land management, that “There are things we can do today, and there are things we cannot do today. Some things are more pressing than others, and we believe that we should first resolve the issues concerning electricity and garbage collection, and the improvement of roads and houses.”

Or as one resident sitting next to me ‘translated’ for me: “They have contracts with Light (electricity company) and Comlurb (waste collection company), providing these services that they say are ‘essential.’ They are only essential for their wallets.”

Whether true or not, the fact is that of the 23 questions asked by residents during the question round only three were answered. The others “would be gotten back to.” Yet to this day, a month and a half later, no response has been given.

Arguments for Limited Participation

Some say that the UPP Social officials have a good point, that it is not possible to listen to all the residents of Vidigal (whether it be their 10,372, or the residents’ estimate of 15,000) and that citizen participation doesn’t mean involving all citizens in all decisions at all times and at all cost.

This argument is systematically used by the UPP and is based on the assumption that democracy and citizenship need to be invested in quantitatively instead of deepened qualitatively.

Another platitude is that full participation is not possible in a country like Brazil with a history of dictatorships and a system of democracy that is unable or unwilling to respond to the needs of the large majority. According to this logic, the UPP Social constitutes a huge ‘advance’ in the fact that the state meets with residents at all.

Brazil as a Participatory Model

Since implementing the first participatory budgeting process in the world in 1989, Brazil’s city of Porto Alegre has become a symbol of deepening participation. Since then, more than 1200 municipalities worldwide have followed suit with participatory budgeting initiatives, most recent of which are New York and Newcastle. It is possible, even in the Brazilian context, to involve citizens in the decisions that concern them and it is possible to change the system to engender active participation of the majority. In fact, perhaps it is even more necessary in the Brazilian context. It was Porto Alegre’s high inequality that gave rise to the initiative in the first place. There, sewerage and water connections, education and health networks expanded dramatically thanks to participatory budgeting. And two decades after the initiative began, participation continues to be high.

It is not only in participatory budgeting that Brazil has made a name for itself. Brazilian political scientist Thamy Pogrebinschi wrote in a recent paper on Brazil’s national public policy conference process that: “Participation seems to have indeed become a democratic method of governance in Brazil. As a method, participation enriches representative democracy. While turning political institutions into more representative bodies, this participation accommodates civil society within the state, and impels the redesign of both policymaking and lawmaking processes. Such institutional changes have for their turn been proving themselves to produce not only more legitimate political decisions, but also more effective social outcomes. If Brazil’s noted poverty reduction is due to income transfer and other successful redistributive policies adopted by Lula’s government, the political representation of minority groups (such as women, indigenous people, LGBT, elderly, youth, people with disabilities, among others) is certainly also an achievement of the institutionalization of participatory experiences that allow for a more stronger and effective advocacy of rights and policy inclusion.”

Rio as an Exception

Rio de Janeiro, however, is marked by a historic lack of participatory process and the UPP Social forums are no different. The fact that the UPP Social does not incorporate resident suggestions made in its public debates and executes only those programs set by UPP policy at large is not a question of lack of capacity to address and incorporate favela citizens’ needs but an unwillingness to do so.

This is unfortunate because by not listening to the demands of favela residents policy makers are missing out on the opportunity to actually integrate the favelas into the formal city. I have observed across the UPP Social forums I’ve been to the large number of community residents in attendance, more than willing and capable to join in the state’s decision-making processes.

UPP Social in theory has the structure to incorporate and execute demands of favela residents. And Brazil’s experience, as the ‘darling’ of the international participatory democracy movement, shows this is feasible in practice. But with no tradition of deliberation and inclusion in a city whose inequality hasn’t changed despite Brazil’s eight percentage point decline in inequality, it doesn’t look like change is coming yet. At least not via UPP Social. Maybe it is too much to expect that a program bent on ‘pacification’ would give people a voice.

Recommended Reading

Cornwall, Andrea; Coelho Vera
2007 Spaces for change. London: Zedbooks.

Giddens, Andrew
1985 The Nation-State and Violence: A contemporary Critique of Historical materialism. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Isin, Engin F.; Turner, Bryan S., eds.
2002 Citizenship studies: An introduction. In Handbook of citizenship studies. Isin, Engin F. and Turner, Bryan S., eds. Pp 1–10. London: Sage.

Jelin, Elizabeth, eds.
1996 Citizenship revised: Solidarity, Responsibility, and Rights. In Constructing democracy: Human rights, Citizenship and society in Latin America. Elizabeth Jelin and Eric Hershberg, eds. Pp. 101-119. Colorado: Westview Press.

Pogrebinschi, Thamy

2012 “Participatory Policymaking and Political Experimentalism in Brazil”. In: Stefanie Kron/Sérgio Costa/Marianne Braig (Hg.): Democracia y reconfiguraciones contemporáneas del derecho en America Latina. Frankfurt/Madrid: Vervuert (i. E.).

Sadek, Maria
2000 Justiça e Cidadania no Brasil. São Paulo: Sumare.

Tilly, Charles
1985 War Making and State Making as Organized Crime. In Bringing the state back in. Peter Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer and Theda Skocpol, eds. pp. 169-186. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The start of March marks the end of summer, disappointing those Rio locals (cariocas) who frequent the beaches, swimming pools and other sun traps. For many workers, the arrival of fall can be a relief. That is the case for mailman Cléber Saraiva, who works in downtown Bangu. During his shift, carrying a heavy weight and wearing a stifling uniform, he goes from street to street in two of Rio’s hottest neighborhoods. Cléber gets doubly tired working in the summer: “there are days when I get home and it feels like my head is exploding.”

The scolding heat in Bangu is not anything new for this summer. The neighborhood, in the western part of Rio, is known for its high temperatures. And for good reason: Bangu holds the record of 43.1°C (110°F), reached in 1984, the highest temperature ever registered by INMET (National Meteorological Institute or Brazil) in Rio. Tadeu Santos, who lives in the neighborhood and studies in the Ilha do Fundão, notices the difference in temperature between the two places: “Fundão, hot though it is, is always a little fresher than Bangu.”

Some geographical peculiarities make the neighborhood one of the hottest places in Rio de Janeiro. Its distance from the sea, which is a lot compared with many other parts of the city. Also, the area of Bangu is situated between two big landmasses: the Gericinó and Pedra Branca ranges. Pedra Branca, to the south, forms a giant wall that prevents the sea breeze from getting to the area. Being “confined” between these two ranges makes Bangu conducive to “heat islands.”

Claudison Rodrigues, the coordinator of the educational and scientific program at the Museum of the Environment, defines heat islands as “places where the temperature is higher than in other places due to less green space, lower air circulation and lots of roads.” This is a phenomenon that is unique to big cities – such as Rio – where the average temperature tends to be higher than in nearby rural regions.

According to a study on the thermal setting of Rio de Janeiro – written by Ana Maria Brandão and José Roberto Tarifa – the neighborhoods situated between the mountains “suffer from the influence of the katabatic warming of air, and they are subject to frequent periods of calm or light winds.” Katabatic is a type of wind that moves air from a high elevation down the slopes of the hills due to gravitational pull. The authors of the study go on to say that it is those topographic characteristics that make “the place famous for recording very high temperatures, often passing 40°C (104°F) in the summer.”

As with the above analysis, geographer Andrews José de Lucena – a researcher into the thermal patterns in western Rio – has identified a system of winds that are “frequently and exclusively in the Bangu valley area,” which he calls the Fohn effect. “Fohn or Chinook is a strong, dry and hot wind that develops downwind from a mountain range when stationery air is forced to pass over the mountains.” These two studies characterize the Bangu region as an area that sees a hot and dry wind form as a direct result of the mountain ranges that are nearby.

Sunny days, but bad sleep at night

The high temperatures have interfered with the quality of life of those who live in the area, making their daily lives more tiring and often affecting sleep. Tadeu, for example, notes that it is at bedtime that the heat is most uncomfortable. Without air conditioning at home, he takes a few measures to get some sleep: “to sleep in this weather I need an ice bath, at least two fans and as little clothing as possible.”

For this reason, it is at nighttime that the highest number of fans and air conditioning units are switched on full-blast. The hotter it is, the higher the demand on the electrical energy distribution system. It is likely that this demand was the reason behind two blackouts in Padre Miguel – a neighborhood next to Bangu – on February 28 and 29. Sheila Garcia, a local resident, describes what happened: “the lights went out around 10pm while I was watching TV. It was really hot during the day, and I couldn’t sleep until the power came back on.” According to Sheila, the electricity didn’t come back on until around two hours later, at midnight.

She also mentions the rise in electricity bills in the summer. Sheila compares how much she spent in November, a spring month, with January – the month with typically the highest average temperatures: “in November, my bill was R$64; in January it was R$83”. The difference in charges represents an increase of over 30%. For her, the explanation lies with the heat: “we have the fan on the entire night. That costs at the end of the month.”

Environmental Problems: unsustainable development and the deforestation of Pedra Branca

Besides the natural conditions of the neighborhood, the excess of heat in Bangu can be related to the human presence in the region that has intensified since the 1960s. Currently, Bangu is the second most populous neighborhood in Rio after its nearby relative, Campo Grande. According to data from 2010, from the Geo Portal run by Rio’s Pereira Passos Institute, there are currently 243,125 residents.

Lucena indicates that there was a more than 1°C (1.8°F) increase in average temperature in the 1980s and 1990s. The formation of heat islands is caused not only by the presence of roads and buildings but also by air pollution caused by greenhouse gases. Despite being a predominantly residential area, Bangu has high traffic levels throughout the main streets that run downtown.

The author also identified “significant losses in the vegetation coverage of Pedra Branca and Gericinó due to the expansion of occupancy of the hillsides” as one of the factors responsible for the rise in temperature. Amongst these environmental harms, the Pedra Branca State Park stands out. It is considered the largest forest reserve in an urban environment anywhere in the world and it contains the highest point in the city of Rio: the Pedra Branca Peak, at an elevation of 1,025 meters.

According to the Friends of Pedra Branca Park website, the process of favela occupation is also increasing throughout the area. The site also calls attention to the exploitation of the land caused by quarries, burnings and deforestation to make way for pastures and the expansion of crop harvesting. All of this has contributed to the decrease in green space in the Park which despite being protected by a rigorous environmental legislation is not adequately supervised or reforested by the public authorities.

Solutions: sprinklers or tree planting?

The elevated sprinklers along the main pedestrian drag in downtown Bangu, which have not worked for the last two years, started spraying again just a few days ago thanks to maintenance work being carried out. It was 2002 when the neighborhood got the cooling system that helps to reduce the heat felt by passersby. For a Bangu regular, Jane Barreto, the moisture helps to put up with the high temperatures: “when it is really hot and the area is full of people the sprinklers are the only form of relief.”

Despite its efficacy being proved in downtown Bangu, sprinklers are far from a solution for all the heat islands that form. A more efficient and long-term measure to reduce temperatures is the planting of trees and the preservation of green areas. According to Flávio Telles, the director of tree-planting at the Park and Garden Foundation, the surveys carried out by the government indicate that the P5 area (which includes Bangu, Campo Grande, Santa Cruz and others) shows a high demand for urban trees: “the areas where we do the most tree planting are the P3 (Rio’s North Zone) and P5, because they need it the most.”

The data and analyses of various specialists and the opinions of locals confirm what popular belief already knew: Bangu is hot. And the local geography is largely responsible for this. However, in these times of global warming, human intervention, including unrestrained growth, deforestation and pollution, can have a worsening effect on the situation. And it is a vicious circle: the hotter it is, the more energy is needed for air conditioning units. And if this energy is not generated in a clean way then there is another negative effect: the increase and spread of greenhouse gases. In this scenario, those who suffer the most are the poorest, who often do not have access to refrigeration or cooling systems. Global climactic changes are a reality – just look at global warming. Local changes are, too – just look at these heat islands. Bangu is hot, but it could get worse.

In the Babilônia resident’s association building in the pacified community overlooking Leme, Regina Tchelly and her team served up a range of gourmet dishes made with ingredients commonly regarded as trash. The full vegetarian feijoada with watercress root farofa, watermelon peel risotto and pumpkin peel dessert may sound like unreasonably experimental cooking but in fact are delicious, satisfying dishes that maximize the nutritious and economical value of the ingredients.

Regina Tchelly founded Favela Orgânica with R$140 out of her home in Babilonia. She explains: “I’m from Paraiba in the Northeast. There we manage to get much more out of the food than in an immense city like Rio where there’s an absurd amount of waste.”

“The idea is that people with low incomes and high incomes alike learn how to use all the food they bring to their homes and produce delicious meals like we’re serving today. It’s low cost, healthier and more economical in the home.”

Regina is a smiley one woman superforce of passion and energy, out of which her vision to help people create new, healthier and more economical food habits has taken form and grown.

With Favela Orgânica she has trained her current team of sixteen women, offering workshops in nutrition, consumption and waste, and gastronomy and the total utilization of foods. She says: “When we say we utilize everything, people make the connection with trash but it’s not trash, it’s food. People throw vitamins away.”

At Sunday’s event, where for just R$10 people could enjoy a full meal of truly tasty and filling dishes, refreshing fresh juices and a richly delicious chocolate and orange peel dessert, there were a lot of fresh converts to the Favela Orgânica way of thinking.

Juliana Beltrame, a carioca diner at the event, says: “I’ve never had a meal with a vegetable peel base before. It was really delicious and I’m going to try to do something like this at home.”

Fellow diner Sebastião Junior from Petrópolis was also impressed, saying: “We should really start to value this type of food.”

Sunday’s event is just the first in a series of monthly taster events with the goal of raising funds to buy machines such as blenders to make the food preparation easier and help Regina achieve the dream of a Favela Orgânica canteen in the community. “My imagination runs wild adapting chic dishes using the whole of the ingredients. When we have the canteen I’ll be able to follow through with all my ideas.”

Although the project is growing, with workshops in Complexo de Alemão and Gávea and providing outside buffet catering, Regina is still unable to devote all her time to Favela Orgânica. She says: “As a maid I earn a lot more than working like this at the moment. I still can’t sustain myself with the project but I want the plans for the future to come to fruition quickly so that I can dedicate myself.”

Smiling broadly she says: “If the project’s like this while I’m still working as a maid, imagine what it’s going to be like in the future.”

For more information on Favela Orgânica and details of future events visit favelaorganica.blogspot.com or fan the Favela Orgânica Facebook page.

View the slideshow of this event and the community:

The group started in October 2004 and has been growing, expanding their work to various communities, training students in the Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance and music. Manel and his teachers run classes in the communities of Rocinha, Berimbau, Maculele and Samba de Roda and also have branches in the cities of Petrópolis and the state of Minas.

Along with capoeira, the Acorda school runs youth tutoring, foreign language classes, theater classes, drumming lessons, traditional dance classes and cultural tours. The group’s goal is to show youth from low-income communities that they can lead a good life, and with perseverance achieve their dreams.

With 30 years of experience, Manel heads the school teaching students ranging from three to adulthood. He is supported by ten instructors, advanced students who have traveled to countries like China and Angola, putting on capoeira presentations. Mestre Manel is in his 50s and has 3 sons, all of whom play Capoeira.

In this video Manel talks about what the famous Brazilian martial art offers his students, from health benefits to dedication and discipline. He goes on to describe how he and capoeira have brought the community closer together and how he would like to see other community leaders do the same, in order to strengthen the community and create a better future for the children.

There is also reaction from two of the children from school who describe why they like capoeira and what they gain from it:

A group of Indian architects wants to import lessons learned in Brazilian favelas to Mumbai in order to improve living conditions in poor regions of the Indian city.

Architects and planners from the Institute of Urbanology – a foundation based in Mumbai dedicated to research and dissemination of ideas on urbanism – believe that several of the Indian government’s initiatives to rebuild housing ended up producing only corruption, decrepit buildings, and miserable neighborhoods.

In some cases, the living conditions of residents in the new blocks even worsened when they swapped their shacks in the slums for these new apartments.

The Indian architects visited the Paraisópolis favela in São Paulo this year and grew excited by what they saw. Instead of destroying existing homes and building new housing, the majority of slum dwellers applied a jeitinho (a uniquely Brazilian expression, meaning ingenuity born of need; or taking advantage of flexible rules) to their own homes.

According to professionals at the Institute of Urbanology, it is much more effective to improve housing conditions than simply to destroy entire slums.

‘TOOL-HOUSES’

Matias Echanove, a member of the academic urbanism collective Urbz, involved in the Paraisópolis trip, identifies four problems in the construction of new housing to replace slums.

First, to keep the apartments affordable, builders need to greatly reduce work costs, a factor which compromises the quality of material used.

Another problem is that the housing ends up with what Echanove calls “tool-houses” – homes that double as business establishments.

“When people lose their homes in the communities, they also lose their businesses. For the local economy, this may be a bad thing,” said Echanove to BBC Brazil.

The third factor is social interaction, which is compromised as people interact in residential buildings less than in communities like favelas.

“(In public housing) it is possible to feel even more insecure than in the favelas. The informal communities in Mumbai have something planners call ‘eyes on the street’. That is, there is always someone roaming the streets,” says the urbanist.

“One thing that caught our attention in Paraisópolis is that in parts of the favela we had a greater sense of security than in other parts of São Paulo, like downtown, where there were a number of drug dealers and drug users. In the favelas, there are more families and workers circulating, which makes the environment more enjoyable. ”

Finally, the urbanist believes that formal building construction leads to corruption.

“The construction industry is always one of the most corrupt in the economy. In general, it is always the same players who win public contracts.”

ADVANTAGE

Another advantage observed by planners on their visit to Paraisópolis is what professionals call “incremental development” – residents using their incomes to improve their own houses, building more floors on a house and puxadinhos (irregular additions).

“We have seen pretty curious cases in Paraisópolis, such as a resident who (incrementally) improved his home over an 18-year period. This forms a much richer cycle of urban and economic development.”

He recognizes that there are serious problems in the favelas, especially when the government does not provide good roads, sanitation and electricity. Another flaw is that the favelas without any urban planning – especially those built in areas at risk – are more vulnerable to environmental events like flooding. To Echanove, however, this can be resolved with works from authorities and not with the removal of favelas.

Lessons can be harnessed in places like Dharavi, one of the five largest slums in the world, whose total population is estimated at between 600,000 and 1 million people.

DHARAVI-PARAISÓPOLIS SCHOOL

The Institute of Urbanology plans a series of workshops and discussions in June 2013 on the experiences of architecture in India and Brazil. With the support of the City of São Paulo and the cement multinational Lafarge, professionals will spend two weeks in Dharavi and two weeks in Paraisópolis for an event named Dharavi-Paraisópolis School of Urbanology.

“Construction workers and slum dwellers will teach planners, architects and politicians some of their techniques. We want to reverse the traditional hierarchy of public authority and show that we have things to learn as professionals,” said the director of Urbz.

This year, the Indian organization took students from the prestigious college Sir JJ College of Architecture, from Mumbai, to Brazil, where they spent time observing the techniques developed by masons in Brazilian favelas. This week an exhibition was launched with photos taken in the São Paulo favela.