{"id":27526,"date":"2016-03-17T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T15:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=27526"},"modified":"2020-08-07T14:04:16","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T17:04:16","slug":"a-tale-of-two-plans-a-critique-of-mayor-paes-plan-for-vila-autodromo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=27526","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Plans: A Critique of Mayor Paes\u2019 Plan for Vila Aut\u00f3dromo"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

On Tuesday, March 8, Mayor Eduardo Paes<\/a> finally released his plan for the community<\/a> of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>, adjacent to\u00a0the Olympic Park. The absence of a public City plan<\/a> until that point had kept residents in a sustained state of stress, skeptical of the mayor\u2019s promises<\/a> that those who wanted to stay could remain. Unfortunately, the City\u2019s plan does not offer full relief. Designed and delivered in a top-down exclusive process<\/a>, the City\u2019s plan calls for the near-total erasure of existing structures, ignores the needs identified by residents, and seeks to hide the experience of forced removals<\/a>. It is a case study in poor quality urban planning, its failings all the more stark when compared to the People\u2019s Plan<\/a> developed by residents and supporters.<\/p>\n

The mayor presented the City\u2019s plan to a select group of journalists at a press conference in Cidade Nova in central Rio<\/a>. The time and location of the press conference were changed<\/a> just hours beforehand\u00a0so community members could not attend the event and speak to the press there, though they held their own press conference at the original location in Botafogo<\/a><\/span>. A group of residents and supporters went to City Hall<\/a>\u00a0this week, on\u00a0March 15, to demand the mayor<\/a> present the plan to them directly, so that they can begin to discuss its proposals and formulate a response.<\/p>\n

Maria da Penha, whose home was demolished<\/a> last Tuesday on International Women\u2019s Day, explained: \u201c<\/span>Our idea is to underscore that he hasn\u2019t called us to show us the plan. We\u2019ve seen it, but officially with them, we haven\u2019t. Because we want to discuss it with them. We want them to receive us to discuss things.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Vila<\/a>
Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents deliver demand to City Hall that Mayor discuss the upgrading plan with them in person.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Contrasting plans: The proposals<\/h3>\n

The City\u2019s plan states there are 25 remaining families in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo and proposes to build 30 houses. The latest version of the\u00a0People\u2019s Plan<\/a>, publicly presented on February 27<\/a>,\u00a0calls\u00a0for\u00a050 houses.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"City's<\/a>
City’s plan for Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. Image from Rio Prefeitura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most disturbing aspects of the mayor\u2019s presentation is the proposal to completely demolish the existing house structures in order to build a single street of uniform small attached houses. In the Powerpoint<\/a>, so far the only publicly available account of the plan, there is no explanation for the process or timeline for this demolition and reconstruction. Note that the full demolition reflects\u00a0what urban planners refer to as urban renewal<\/a>, very different from the promised on-site upgrading<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Given the City\u2019s previous tactics of deception and intimidation<\/a><\/span>\u00a0coupled with the lack of transparency, resident Delmo Oliveira<\/span>\u00a0insists that community members won\u2019t leave in order to implement the mayor\u2019s plan: \u201cWe don\u2019t believe him. Only when we see it will we believe him. When it\u2019s ready. If he makes us leave our homes to build, we won\u2019t leave. He\u2019ll demolish them and then go to the courts to make [full removal]\u00a0legal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During the invite-only presentation itself, Paes affirmed the new houses would be built\u00a0before the Olympics, and that most of the remaining residents can\u00a0stay in their current homes\u00a0while the new houses are being built.<\/p>\n

In comparison, the most recent iteration of the People\u2019s Plan\u00a0<\/span>shows the feasibility of maintaining existing structures and spaces, including homes, the Catholic church, the now-demolished Neighborhood Association<\/a> building, and the community-built \u2018Parquinho<\/a>\u2019 playground. It also calls for new homes for the residents who never accepted deals from the City but whose homes were demolished anyway.<\/p>\n

\"Preliminary
Preliminary version of the latest People’s Plan map. The final version is available across two pages in the full People’s Plan document.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The City plans to provide demanded public services from sewerage and lighting to repaired roads. The plan also provides for a church and a basketball court, but noticeably lacks plans for the majority of the spaces proposed by residents to address specific community needs, including a day care<\/a>, a multi-use space with activities ranging from adult education courses to an employment agency, and exercise spaces for the elderly in addition to other leisure spaces. The City\u2019s map lacks a Neighborhood Association building, despite the fact that the Association is integral to Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s history and sense of community, and all favelas\u00a0are\u00a0expected to have one to legally represent them.<\/p>\n

The People\u2019s Plan explains the importance of these public places: \u201cThe community has been characterized, throughout its whole history, by solidarity<\/a> and cooperation between residents, which represents<\/span>\u00a0a large and important accumulation of experiences of mobilization, organization<\/a>, and mutual support<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>By overlooking important\u00a0shared spaces<\/a>, the City’s proposal would alter the social nature and structure of the community.<\/p>\n

Residents\u2019 proposals for better access to the rest of the city, including the return of a recently cut bus line<\/a>, go unaddressed by the City\u2019s plan thus far. Two schools proposed by the City respond to some of the residents\u2019 concerns for better access to education<\/a>, but residents had suggested a school be built in the Olympic Park, not on Vila Aut\u00f3dromo land itself.<\/p>\n

Delmo Oliveira questioned the real motivation for the two schools for just 30 families: \u201c<\/span>They have two stadiums that are to be taken down after the Olympics. [Paes] already said they would become schools. Why does he want to put them on both sides of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo? To hide the fact that there is a community there? Why these two schools?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s presentation also lacks designated space for local businesses. Vila Aut\u00f3dromo had a number of thriving businesses including a grocery store, bakery<\/a>, and small restaurants run by local entrepreneurs. Delmo\u00a0also commented on this shortcoming in the mayor\u2019s presentation: \u201cFor example, the commercial center? Where are the people of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo going to buy bread?”<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the most symbolic (and unsurprising) omission\u00a0from the City\u2019s plan is the residents\u2019 proposal to maintain the ruins of one demolished home as a \u201cspace of memory<\/a> and truth, evidence of the process of demolitions and human rights<\/a> violations.\u201d By proposing to build a new neighborhood from scratch, the City is not just rejecting the idea of one dedicated memorial, but attempting to erase all physical evidence of the community\u2019s struggle.<\/p>\n

Contrasting plans: The stories they tell<\/h3>\n

The history of community struggle is already absent from the mayor\u2019s Powerpoint presentation of the urban renewal\u00a0plan. A series of pie charts tell a story in which one-third of the community had to leave, while 97% of those who did not have to leave \u201casked to\u201d and \u201cchose to\u201d leave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"City<\/a>
City presentation on Vila Aut\u00f3dromo argues that, of 549 people who didn’t have to leave, 531 chose to leave. Image from Rio Prefeitura.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, the marketing-friendly photo of\u00a0public housing<\/a> to which residents have been removed features smiling children having fun in a pool. This is a one-sided portrayal of housing that has suffered from structural problems<\/a> and where some residents struggle to meet costs<\/a>. The public housing’s pool is currently overtaken by fungal growth and residents have been prohibited entry for months, told they must pay for maintenance themselves. Delmo expressed skepticism towards the mayor’s implications:\u00a0\u201c[Paes]\u00a0says there are 500 happy families in Parque Carioca<\/a>, but I challenge any reporter to find those 500 families.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The People\u2019s Plan, in contrast, documents the City\u2019s extensive efforts to convince people to leave:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe threats<\/a> included saying that the last [families left] would get smaller and worse apartments and that, by September 2014, none of the community would be left.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cOfficial information never arrived, maintaining a climate of fear about what would happen with those who didn\u2019t negotiate [to leave the community].\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The community plan describes the gradual decline in quality of life in the neighborhood as homes were demolished, the water supply was disrupted by Olympic Park construction, services like garbage collection and electricity were reduced, and trees were removed.<\/p>\n

It documented, in May 2014, that 187 families wanted to stay. Subtracting the 25-50 families who remain, this means some\u00a0137-162 families negotiated to leave\u00a0only after May 2014,\u00a0whether due to intensified pressure<\/a>, the deteriorating neighborhood, higher incentives<\/a>, the declaration of eminent domain<\/a>\u00a0in March 2015, or other circumstances. The mayor’s plan takes pains to show that not everyone wanted to stay, which is true, but it deliberately obscures the well-documented fact that most\u00a0people who negotiated did not initially, or even ultimately<\/a>,\u00a0want to leave.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s presentation also tells a simple story of why people had to be removed: either their homes were in the way of an Olympic Park access road, or they lived on the marginal stretch of land along the lagoon, which supposedly needed to be recuperated for environmental conservation. Since 2009, however, the\u00a0official\u00a0reasons for evictions\u00a0in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo have changed numerous times. A map in the People\u2019s Plan highlights four other motivations residents were told\u00a0caused or justified removals: to make way for water pipes, to widen a bordering road, to \u201cliberate\u201d the front of a 5-star hotel and construct a pedestrian bridge, and finally, instead of the environmental justification, to \u201cliberate the view of the residential buildings<\/a> built after the Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People's<\/a>
People’s Plan shows the areas that were removed and believed reasons. Image from Plano Popular 2016 da Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Contrasting plans: Process and transparency<\/h3>\n

The discrepancies in content, depth, and format between the two plans is a reflection of the very different processes that took place to develop them. How the City arrived at the plan the mayor proposed last week is not public information. RioReal Blog <\/span><\/i>reports<\/a> Paes claims he couldn\u2019t release the plan earlier because \u201che needed to know how many residents would stay and that he had to keep it secret to avoid new arrivals in the Vila, looking for a chance to live in a just-upgraded neighborhood.\u201d Surely, the City could have found a way to distinguish long-term residents from new arrivals. But it\u2019s true that releasing a plan earlier could have impacted the number of residents\u2014perhaps fewer would have left out of fear and sustained stress.<\/span><\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s sparse 24-slide Powerpoint presentation is a product someone could have put together in about thirty minutes, since the proposed map isn\u2019t tailored to the existing physical neighborhood or to residents\u2019 demands. The image of the projected row of houses could be a design for anywhere.<\/p>\n

\"Projected
Projected Vila Aut\u00f3dromo houses in City’s plan. Image from Rio Prefeitura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The City plan\u2019s process alone (not taking into account the full removal process) fails at least three of the eight Principles<\/span><\/a> on \u201cOverall Responsibility to the Public\u201d outlined by the American Institute of Certified Planners: provision of timely information; participation; and conservation of the built environment\u2019s heritage. It fails all <\/span>seven guidelines<\/span><\/a> for building great communities proposed by the Project for Public Spaces, which stress community engagement and encouraging communities to articulate their visions. <\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, the Vila Aut\u00f3dromo People\u2019s Plan has evolved publicly and transparently since 2011<\/a>, as the plan itself describes. The residents\u2019 problems, proposed solutions, and vision for the neighborhood were debated and articulated<\/a> over the last five years in community meetings, led by residents and supported by urban planners\u00a0of two universities, all explicitly acknowledged at the end of the document. Different iterations of the plan have taken into account the City’s actions in and around the community, showing Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s adaptability and willingness to work with the Olympics and the City.<\/span>\u00a0It is not just a plan for physical upgrades, but a plan for \u201curban, economic, social and cultural development.\u201d<\/p>\n

By producing a collaborative community plan, Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents demonstrate the type of planning process they believe in. \u201cWe\u2019re showing what kind of city we want, to which we have the right, and how to construct it,\u201d the plan explains. In this envisioned city, \u201cit\u2019s the community of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo that decides and establishes the priorities…the population that lives the day-to-day reality and difficulties who will say what is necessary and how it should be done.\u201d The People\u2019s Plan\u2019s authors see the plan as a model for the rest of the city, for \u201ca new form of building\u00a0a democratic city and a new form of planning the city.\u201d All of this, they argue, is the people\u2019s right: \u201cour right to decide our destinies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contesting the struggle\u00a0in the media<\/h3>\n

Though it had garnered some national<\/a> and international<\/span><\/a> media<\/span> attention in <\/span>previous months<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s struggle has been extensively <\/span>covered<\/span><\/a> the <\/span>last few weeks<\/a>\u00a0due to the recent demolitions of the <\/span>Neighborhood Association building<\/span><\/a>, Heloisa Helena\u2019s<\/a> house and\u00a0religious site, and <\/span>Maria da Penha\u2019s home<\/span><\/a> on <\/span>International Women\u2019s Day<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Paes has maintained in media interviews that the City has been in constant dialogue with the community over the years<\/span><\/a>, especially in the case of the <\/span>demolition of Penha\u2019s home<\/span><\/a>. However he has recently tried to portray the remaining community members as hold-outs who are only seeking money, stating that \u201cin most of the cases in which residents want to stay there, it\u2019s because we didn\u2019t reach a price. They want to receive a very high price for their homes.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The mayor is also attempting to gain media favor by offering transparency in the cases of those who have already left, painting former residents as greedy estate owners<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThose who had more than ten homes, who turned Vila Aut\u00f3dromo into an estate, using the poorer residents, everyone will know them. Everyone will know how many apartments and how much money they received in compensation. We are not going to allow those who left Vila Aut\u00f3dromo with advantageous negotiations to use this opportunity to make themselves look like victims.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Not to be distracted, residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo have kept the pressure on Paes, mobilizing\u00a0the <\/span>#UrbanizaJ\u00e1<\/span><\/a> social media video campaign to demand promised on-site upgrades. <\/span>Activists<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>academics<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>politicians<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>celebrities<\/span><\/a>, and members of international <\/span>organizations<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>solidarity movements<\/span> have joined the campaign. Several participants have\u00a0pointed out\u00a0the <\/span>original People\u2019s Plan<\/span><\/a>\u00a0would have only <\/span>cost R$13.5 million<\/span><\/a>, as opposed to the more than R$208 million the City has spent removing the community.\u00a0<\/span>Though the mayor has now presented the City\u2019s plan, this week Vila Aut\u00f3dromo resident Sandra Maria urged supporters to continue the campaign: \u201c<\/span>That\u2019s why we need this #UrbanizaJ\u00e1 campaign to continue. Because the big question of the campaign is <\/span>when<\/span><\/i>. When, Mr. Mayor, will Vila Autodrom\u00f3 receive upgrades? This question hasn\u2019t been answered.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The mayor should also\u00a0explain why his plan insists on erasing the current neighborhood and its memories, and why he won\u2019t simply accept the internationally awarded<\/a> People\u2019s Plan.<\/p>\n

Sign the petition<\/a> demanding the mayor discuss plans for upgrades\u00a0with Vila Aut\u00f3dromo residents directly.<\/h3>\n

Read\u00a0the 2016 Vila Aut\u00f3dromo People’s Plan here<\/a>.<\/h3>\n

Access the City’s Powerpoint presentation on plans for Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, delivered by Mayor Paes on March 8, here<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas On Tuesday, March 8, Mayor Eduardo Paes finally released his plan for the community of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, adjacent to\u00a0the Olympic Park. The absence of a public City plan until that point […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":27541,"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":[1293,1854,1668,1736,1288,1290,329,328,336,1329],"tags":[9,258,272,674,11,282,26,25,5,152,1866,171,270,1008,796,206,196,4,21,365],"writer":[1352,1716],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27526","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-civilsociety","13":"category-solutions","14":"category-understanding-rio","15":"category-violations","16":"category-by-international-observers","17":"tag-9","18":"tag-community-solution","19":"tag-mayor-eduardo-paes","20":"tag-memory","21":"tag-forced-evictions","22":"tag-housing","23":"tag-housing-rights","24":"tag-human-rights","25":"tag-olympics","26":"tag-participation","27":"tag-peoples-plan","28":"tag-public-space","29":"tag-resistance","30":"tag-right-to-the-city","31":"tag-social-media","32":"tag-upgrading","33":"tag-planning","34":"tag-vila-autodromo","35":"tag-west-zone","36":"tag-zero-participation","37":"writer-cerianne-robertson","38":"writer-stephanie-reist"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27526","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\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/27541"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27526"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=27526"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=27526"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=27526"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=27526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}