Posts tagged inequality
Creation of Shopping Malls in Favelas Divides Opinion
Apr 10th
For the original article in Portuguese by Caio Quero on BBC Brasil click here.
The creation of shopping malls in Rio’s favelas may reinforce the distance between these communities and the rest of the city, in addition to increasing the social differences among residents of these neighborhoods.
This is the opinion of Itamar Silva, director of the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analysis (IBASE) and a resident of the Santa Marta favela, located in Rio’s South Zone. According to him, relations in favelas are traditionally characterized by open circulation, thus the creation of malls in these neighborhoods may create divisions.
“I am critical of More >
Without Transportation for Minha Casa Minha Vida
Jan 8th
The federal program’s dwellings are being constructed in peripheral areas without urban mobility, studies show. Click here for original article in Portuguese in O Globo by Alessandra Duarte and Carolina Benevides.
The federal program that became the hallmark of the Dilma government for housing, Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House My Life) is building many of their dwellings in areas without transportation infrastructure. Studies by urban planners indicate that the program reproduces the logic of older conjuntos (“housing estates”), such as Cidade de Deus and Nova Sepetiba, where the poor end up being pushed to locations far from, for example, the supply of jobs—and without a system More >
Brazil is Missing an Opportunity to Invest in the Favelas (NYT Olympics Debate in-depth response)
Apr 2nd
April 2, 2012–CatComm Executive Director Theresa Williamson invited to engage in a New York Times debate forum on the legacy of mega-events. See original debate here with concise response here. Full response follows:
Rio de Janeiro’s economy was stagnant from 1975-2005, taking off over the past half decade thanks to offshore oil discoveries, improved local-state-federal cooperation, and increasing investor confidence overall. There is no doubt confidence shown in the city being selected to host the 2014 World Cup Final and, more critically, the 2016 Summer Olympics, has played a critical role, particularly given Rio’s prior reputation for violence and mismanagement. Rio is now receiving double More >
Inequality in Brazil Decreases with a Dramatic Drop in the Northeast
Mar 7th
Original article in Portuguese published in Famaliá here.
Economic and social inequality in Brazil continues in free fall and this trend, according to the study “Back to the Country of the Future” (De Volta para o País do Futuro) released today by the Center for Social Policies at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) is likely to continue in the coming years.
The country follows an inverse trend in relation to China, India and Europe, which have all suffered from serious economic crisis since last year. “Brazil has reduced its inequality over the past 11 years in a notable way,” affirmed economist Marcelo More >
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Babilônia and the Threat of Gentrification
Aug 22nd
As I climbed Morro da Babilônia, up the Leme hillside overlooking Copacabana, I was taken aback by this community’s sheer beauty. Unlike many of the favelas here in Rio, Babilônia sports wide, paved roads with trees lining the walk and scenery that stopped me dead in my tracks. As my friend and I made our way up to meet with the director of Babilônia’s reforestation cooperative, CoopBabilônia, we both agreed that this would be a community both of us would be happy to call home.
Like many other communities here, Babilônia has been assigned by the city of Rio de Janeiro More >
