{"id":27172,"date":"2016-02-29T20:24:36","date_gmt":"2016-02-29T23:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=27172"},"modified":"2020-08-07T14:04:17","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T17:04:17","slug":"embattled-vila-autodromo-launches-updated-peoples-plan-and-upgrade-now-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=27172","title":{"rendered":"Embattled Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Launches Updated People’s Plan and “Upgrade Now!” Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Around 250 people gathered in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a> on Saturday, February 27, for the official launch of the updated <\/span>award-winning<\/span><\/a> Vila Aut\u00f3dromo People\u2019s Plan<\/span><\/a>, designed by Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents with technical assistance from researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and the Fluminense Federal University (UFF). The event came after a <\/span>tense week in the community<\/span><\/a>, with the <\/span>demolition of the neighborhood association and Heloisa Helena Costa Berto\u2019s house<\/span><\/a>, and the threat of the demolition of Maria da Penha\u2019s house. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUpgrade\u00a0Now, The Vila Will Stay!\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The morning began with residents, supported by students, marking the community’s\u00a0existing lots, in accordance with\u00a0the People\u2019s Plan. Those who had come to support the community were entertained by a company of clowns from the Free School of Clowns<\/a>, while children drew their own \u201cLittle People’s Plan,\u201d showing how they want Vila Aut\u00f3dromo to be developed. <\/span><\/p>\n

After lunch, residents prepared to host the launch event in Penha\u2019s house, but had to move to the community’s playground\u00a0to accommodate the vast crowd which had assembled. At the launch community leaders, such as Maria da Penha, Sandra Maria and <\/span>Jane Nascimento<\/span><\/a>, as well as two of the\u00a0urban planners who had led the technical team\u00a0on the People\u2019s Plan–Carlos Vainer and Regina Bienenstein–spoke to those assembled. They described the struggle to remain on the land up to this point, and their hopes moving forward, which are detailed in the Plan.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Maria da Penha opened the speeches, declaring that although \u201cthe Association fell, we have not.\u201d She continued on a personal note: \u201cI\u2019m not giving up my rights, nor my house.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

She went on to explain that the City at times\u00a0argues that Vila Aut\u00f3dromo can\u2019t stay because \u201cthere is no way to upgrade the community,\u201d<\/span>\u00a0arguing that the People\u2019s Plan shows that this is a lie. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sandra Maria took the microphone next, and used her speech to challenge Mayor Eduardo Paes<\/a> to keep his word<\/a> and allow the community to remain.\u00a0She and other residents at Saturday’s event launched a challenge to all supporters of the community to upload videos of themselves to social media<\/a>\u00a0calling on the Mayor to keep his word using the hashtag #UrbanizaJ\u00e1<\/a> (Upgrade Now) to track the videos.<\/span><\/p>\n

The head of Rio’s\u00a0Housing Nucleus at the\u00a0Public Defender\u2019s Office<\/a> also spoke, guaranteeing his office\u2019s support for the community’s\u00a0struggle. <\/span><\/p>\n

Carlos Vainer from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro spoke about the need for upgrades, saying, \u201cHousing isn\u2019t just a house, it is integration<\/a> with the city.\u201d He looked upwards toward the new hotel being built\u00a0for the Olympics and said: \u201cThey don\u2019t want the residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo as neighbors, but the residents want to integrate.\u201d Penha chimed in: \u201cAnd remember we were here first!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/a><\/p>\n

Vainer praised the residents for their struggle, adapting the residents’\u00a0motto\u00a0\u201cVila Aut\u00f3dromo exists and resists,\u201d instead saying \u201cVila Aut\u00f3dromo exists <\/span>because<\/span><\/i> it resists.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

At various points in the speeches, the crowd broke into chanting \u201cUpgrade now, Vila Aut\u00f3dromo will stay!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Many residents used their speeches to thank the mass of supporters who had joined them in the community for the event, as well as during the week<\/a> as they resisted the demolition of Maria da Penha\u2019s home, a\u00a0symbolic center of the resistance<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\""Rio<\/a><\/p>\n

With the official launch of the updated Plan, residents affirmed their desire to stay in the community, with upgrades. <\/span>Original plans for the Olympic Park from global infrastructure firm, AECOM<\/span><\/a>, had shown the majority of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo co-existing with the Olympic Park. Furthermore, Mayor Eduardo Paes has <\/span>repeatedly stated that residents who want to stay can stay<\/span><\/a>, but the actions of the City on the ground do not match his words. <\/span><\/p>\n

Psychological intimidation<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>lightning evictions<\/span><\/a> have been used to decimate the community, in a campaign that has cost the City well over R$200 million, <\/span>16 times more than the estimated cost of implementing the People\u2019s Plan<\/span><\/a>. The People\u2019s Plan represents a vision for Vila Aut\u00f3dromo not just to stay but to flourish, and this vision was rewarded, with a prior version winning the <\/span>prestigious Deutsche Bank \/ London School of Economics UrbanAge award<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The People\u2019s Plan<\/h3>\n

The People\u2019s Plan has been updated to reflect the demolitions that have been carried out as well as projecting plots for all residents who have elected to stay and do not have interest in negotiating compensation with the city. In addition to the construction of a new neighborhood\u00a0association, the Plan proposes restoration of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s community garden, a community daycare, multi-use space to hold events in the community, a small park, and an expanded sewage and drainage system. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Plan has been well received for its technical merits, having been shown to <\/span>align with UN-Habitat ideals<\/span><\/a> for good design. Beyond this, the Plan was a participatory effort between the community and academic partners.\u00a0Vainer said, \u201cThe Plan is not a drawing. The Plan is made from courage, passion, and struggle.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Solidarity with Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Despite the intensity of the struggle and the heightened tension<\/a> of the past week<\/a>, the event was an inspiring celebration of ongoing resistance bursting with\u00a0solidarity from supporters and renewing\u00a0optimism for the implementation of the People\u2019s Plan. <\/span><\/p>\n

Amongst those assembled were residents, community leaders, politicians, public defenders who have worked on Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s case, and advocates who have kept vigil in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo over the past week in the face of demolitions. Supporters from other communities, such as City of God<\/a>, were noted to have sent support. Penha told the crowd that the situation brings her \u201csadness, but so much happiness that you all are present.\u201d <\/span>Even construction workers building the Olympic Park next to the playground stopped to listen to the lively speeches.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Supporters<\/a><\/p>\n

At the end of the event, activists made calls for supporters to\u00a0maintain\u00a0a presence in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. They first emphasized the importance of maintaining the vigil in the community this coming week, and then talked about a more long-term presence. A standing invitation to hold events such as capoeira groups and theater in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo was extended to the crowd.\u00a0This coming Saturday, March 5, will celebrate the\u00a0launch<\/a> of <\/span>Raquel Rolnik<\/span><\/a>\u2019s book, War of Places: The Colonization of Land and Housing in the Era of Finance<\/a><\/em>. Raquel Rolnik, recently UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, is a professor at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo and a long-time advocate of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo.<\/span><\/p>\n

The coming week will again be crucial as residents and supporters attempt to halt the removal of Maria da Penha\u2019s home, a key site of resistance. Placed under a demolition order last Monday, residents expect the City to attempt a demolition at any time, and are constantly vigilant. They remain hopeful however, and the display of support at the launch event visibly renewed residents\u2019 morale. As Penha put it: \u201cThe fight\u00a0will continue.”<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas Around 250 people gathered in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo on Saturday, February 27, for the official launch of the updated award-winning Vila Aut\u00f3dromo People\u2019s Plan, designed by Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents with technical assistance […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":27215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1293,1854,1668,1736,1288,1271,1329],"tags":[9,225,756,258,910,272,11,282,25,5,1292,1834,1866,10,270,4],"writer":[1901,1946],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27172","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-evictionswatch","8":"category-housingwatch","9":"category-participationwatch","10":"category-1736","11":"category-highlight","12":"category-favelaqualities","13":"category-by-international-observers","14":"tag-9","15":"tag-barra-da-tijuca","16":"tag-community-organizing","17":"tag-community-solution","18":"tag-creative-organizing","19":"tag-mayor-eduardo-paes","20":"tag-forced-evictions","21":"tag-housing","22":"tag-human-rights","23":"tag-olympics","24":"tag-organizing","25":"tag-participatory-design","26":"tag-peoples-plan","27":"tag-real-estate-speculation","28":"tag-resistance","29":"tag-vila-autodromo","30":"writer-adam-talbot","31":"writer-anna-cash"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27172"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=27172"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=27172"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=27172"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=27172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}