{"id":28371,"date":"2016-05-05T09:32:29","date_gmt":"2016-05-05T12:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=28371"},"modified":"2016-08-19T16:07:06","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T19:07:06","slug":"3-months-to-go-checking-in-on-rios-olympic-legacy-promises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=28371","title":{"rendered":"Three Months to Go: Checking in on Rio’s Olympic Legacy Promises"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\u201cTo deliver excellent Games, with memorable celebrations, that will enhance the global image of Brazil and promote sustainable social and urban transformations through sport, contributing to the growth of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements.\u201d \u2014 Rio 2016 mission statement<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“The Rio 2016 Olympics will be the ultimate Legacy Games.” \u2014\u00a0City of Rio<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Building on a trend developed at recent mega-events, the city of Rio and Olympics\u00a0organizers have heralded the\u00a0positive legacy<\/a> they believe the Olympic Games<\/a>\u00a0will bring\u00a0the host city. An event\u2019s legacy, of course, cannot fully be evaluated until long after the event, but judgments of the event\u2019s success will be pronounced in the media throughout the Games and defined immediately after the Closing Ceremony. With exactly three months\u00a0to go to the Opening Ceremony\u00a0and many legacy projects delivered or underway,\u00a0it’s an important moment to take stock of\u00a0the “social and urban transformations” promised\u00a0to Cariocas<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Identifying promised legacies is a challenge in itself. Across the multitude of City documents and Rio 2016 materials, there is no single list that includes all the promises made by these institutions since the beginning of the bid process. The absence of a comprehensive list allows promises to be more easily made and adapted or even denied as convenient. Morar Carioca<\/a>, for example, is still featured on<\/a> the “Olympic City” promotional website, but\u00a0is a largely-abandoned program.<\/p>\n

For this article, we narrowed down a list of promises to the tangible projects that were included in the City\u2019s \u201cRio 2016: Olympics and Legacy<\/a>\u201d document or incorporated into the \u201clegacy budget<\/a>\u201d defined in 2014. We focus on\u00a0impacts on Rio\u2019s favelas and other marginalized populations because this Olympics has been painted, above all, as\u00a0the \u201cInclusion Games<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Urban Renewal<\/h3>\n

What was promised:<\/b>
\nThe revitalization of Rio\u2019s Port<\/a> region, known as the Porto Maravilha<\/a> project, and urban renewal of the surroundings<\/a> of the Jo\u00e3o Havelange Olympic Stadium in Engenho de Dentro and Maracan\u00e3 Stadium, both in the North Zone<\/a> of the city.<\/p>\n

What has happened so far:<\/b>
\nAs the historic gateway to Rio<\/a> and the point of arrival for an unparalleled number of 2 million<\/a>\u00a0enslaved Africans, Rio\u2019s port<\/a> merits both development as a modern port and recognition as an essential part of the city\u2019s memory and heritage<\/a>. Revitalization projects have included construction of two substantial museums, revamping of several public spaces, incentivized building construction, elimination of an overpass highway, and the (behind schedule) development of the VLT light rail, among others. As\u00a0new businesses move\u00a0to the region, the City has been slow to implement policies to protect long-term\u00a0residents, many of whom are low-income, Afro-Brazilian families. Although a first-of-its-kind plan for social housing<\/a> was developed over the course of last year, there has yet to be seen any implementation and residents remain fearful of gentrification<\/a>. New buildings like the flashy Museum of Tomorrow<\/a> have received criticism<\/a> for obscuring the Port\u2019s past, while civil society efforts to develop an African Heritage Circuit<\/a> of key sites has been coopted by the\u00a0City which\u00a0appears to be using this name on a different, lackluster<\/a> project of its own.<\/p>\n

The so-called \u201curban renewal\u201d of the area around the Maracan\u00e3 stadium has also been troubling. Favela do Metr\u00f4<\/a>‘s families were\u00a0largely evicted<\/a> ahead of the World Cup<\/a>, yet homes and debris were left, no redevelopment took place, encouraging homeless\u00a0families in desperate need of housing to move in, in what has become a long messy drawn-out struggle in the community including further evictions last year<\/a>. The site of the favela was destined to be a parking lot or mechanic commercial park (an actual plan for the area was never made available prior to or after demolitions) but today remains empty. The nearby Aldeia Maracan\u00e3<\/a> indigenous occupation was also forced out<\/a> of the area and the C\u00e9lio de Barros Stadium<\/a>, a public athletics center in the Maracan\u00e3 complex which ran extensive activities for low-income children, was closed without warning or explanation in 2013.<\/p>\n

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

Transport<\/h3>\n

What was promised:<\/b>
\nThe creation<\/a> of the VLT Light Rail path in the Port region and four BRT<\/a> lines, the duplication<\/a> of the Elevado do Jo\u00e1, the expansion of roads<\/a> in Barra, the expansion<\/a> of the metro system, the renovation<\/a> of six train stations, and renovation<\/a> of the international airport.<\/p>\n

What has happened so far:<\/b>
\nMobility<\/a> and transportation<\/a> infrastructure are\u00a0today emphasized by the City as the\u00a0Olympics\u2019 most substantial legacy. Although the metro expansion is one of several transport projects that have run behind schedule, it has the potential to dramatically improve mobility for residents of Rocinha<\/a> and some West Zone<\/a> favelas, among other Rio citizens, while reducing notoriously heavy road traffic.<\/p>\n

Recent transformations to Rio\u2019s bus network\u2014in particular the \u201crationalization\u201d of existing bus lines<\/a>\u2014have caused chaos and confusion<\/a>. Cuts to bus lines are at odds with the claimed goal to reduce car traffic. The City\u00a0says<\/a> the new road network aims to \u201c[remove] traditional geographic and social barriers,\u201d but transport (and overall Olympics) investment has been focused on the wealthy South Zone<\/a> that already sports the city’s best transport infrastructure, and in second place has\u00a0supported West Zone regions like Barra da Tijuca<\/a> and Jacarepagu\u00e1<\/a> where rapid growth in recent years has created elite enclaves<\/a> and a more segregated city<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just two of the four promised BRT lines<\/a> have been built (although it depends on the document<\/a> as to whether all four are part of the Olympic legacy package). The construction of these transport legacies is responsible for a significant portion of the 22,059 families<\/a> that have been evicted from Rio favelas for mega-events, according to the Popular Committee for the World Cup and Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The tragic\u00a0collapse<\/a> last week of part of the legacy project\u00a0Tim Maia\u00a0bike lane, causing\u00a0two deaths, raises\u00a0concerns\u00a0about numerous issues<\/a> including the quality of infrastructure built under tight deadlines ahead of the Olympics. The company contracted for the bike line was also contracted<\/a> for other Olympics-related construction.<\/p>\n

Environment and sanitation<\/h3>\n

What was promised:<\/b>
\nThe rehabilitation<\/a> of Jacarepagu\u00e1 lagoon, the clean-up<\/a> of Guanabara Bay and Barra da Tijuca lakes, flood control<\/a> in Greater Tijuca, the closure<\/a> of Gramacho Landfill and opening<\/a> of Serop\u00e9dica Waste Treatment Center, and the development<\/a> of West Zone sanitation.<\/p>\n

What has happened so far:<\/b>
\nThe Olympics offered a potential incentive to provide desperately needed investment<\/a> in sanitation<\/a> but that opportunity has largely been missed. As\u00a0UOL<\/em> reported in March<\/a>, none of the major environmental projects linked to the Olympics will be completed before the Games. The poor, even dangerous, state of water quality in Rio\u2019s Guanabara Bay<\/a>, lakes, and ocean due to untreated sewage has been widely reported<\/a>. As of February of this year, only six of 86 sewage treatment centers<\/a> in Barra da Tijuca were fully functional, but official statistics on the percent of city sewage that is treated assume\u00a0all sewage treatment centers are functioning, inflating\u00a0the percent treated.<\/p>\n

Sanitation\u00a0is one of the most frequently requested areas for investment across the city\u2019s favelas, but more visible projects like cable cars<\/a> have been given priority<\/a>. Mario Moscatelli<\/a>, a biologist who has campaigned for decades to clean up Rio\u2019s water, says\u00a0from flights over the city\u2019s landscape he \u201conly sees things getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the bid book’s promise to plant 24 million trees<\/a>\u00a0has been abandoned. By March 2015 the Environment State Secretary argued<\/a>\u00a0that promise was irrelevant, because at the time it was made the carbon footprint of the Games was uncertain. In fact, many projections made in mega-event bid books are uncertain, but that doesn’t stop organizers from asserting them confidently in the bid process and for as long as it remains convenient. Restrictions defining Environmental Protection Areas (APA)<\/a> have been imposed or discarded with inconsistency. The City seemed happy to ignore an\u00a0\u201carray of laws<\/a>\u201d when building the Olympic golf course<\/a> on the Marapendi Municipal Reserve. When it came to Jacarepagu\u00e1 lagoon however, authorities were keen to enforce\u00a0the APA laws, using them as a pretext for the eviction of families in part of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>. This state of exception<\/a>, whereby the state bends its own laws and procedures, is a regular phenomenon ahead of mega-events.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a><\/h3>\n

An Unintended Positive Legacy<\/h3>\n

As a result of local perceptions that the Olympic Games will leave a legacy of displacement, militarization<\/a>, and a more divided<\/a>, elite city, an unplanned positive\u00a0legacy has emerged. Residents of favelas and the city in general are informed and connected as never before<\/a>, thanks to increased access to new technologies. The growth of community media<\/a> platforms and activist networks in response to some of the most negative aspects of the Olympic City will continue to empower citizens long after the Games. While this may be scant consolation for many of those whose lives have been harmed by the current administration’s<\/a>\u00a0Olympic dream, these connections represent a silver lining for a civil society yearning to be involved in policy decisions. Perhaps, after the Games, this civil society will be able to impress its wishes on whoever succeeds Mayor Eduardo Paes come\u00a0October’s mayoral elections, and help reshape the Olympic legacy to make it work for all citizens of Rio, not just a few<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas \u201cTo deliver excellent Games, with memorable celebrations, that will enhance the global image of Brazil and promote sustainable social and urban transformations through sport, contributing to the growth of the Olympic […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":28394,"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":[1736,1288,1869,328,336,1329],"tags":[9,646,1685,606,1825,959,168,1163,756,272,1395,19,11,65,531,327,2178,5,148,146,409,1402,535,421,373,279,980,156,200,1099,4,21],"writer":[1901,1352],"translator":[],"illustrator":[],"photographer":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-28371","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-1736","8":"category-highlight","9":"category-transit","10":"category-understanding-rio","11":"category-violations","12":"category-by-international-observers","13":"tag-9","14":"tag-aldeia-maracana","15":"tag-bike-path","16":"tag-brt","17":"tag-bus-transport","18":"tag-celio-barros-athletic-stadium","19":"tag-centro","20":"tag-civil-society","21":"tag-community-organizing","22":"tag-mayor-eduardo-paes","23":"tag-environmental-protection-area-apa","24":"tag-favela-do-metro","25":"tag-forced-evictions","26":"tag-gentrification","27":"tag-guanabara-bay","28":"tag-legacy-myth","29":"tag-museum-of-tomorrow","30":"tag-olympics","31":"tag-port-region","32":"tag-porto-maravilha","33":"tag-public-transportation","34":"tag-legacy","35":"tag-sanitation","36":"tag-segregation","37":"tag-sewerage","38":"tag-slavery","39":"tag-social-legacy","40":"tag-south-zone","41":"tag-transportation","42":"tag-trees","43":"tag-vila-autodromo","44":"tag-west-zone","45":"writer-adam-talbot","46":"writer-cerianne-robertson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28371","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=28371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28371"},{"taxonomy":"writer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fwriter&post=28371"},{"taxonomy":"translator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftranslator&post=28371"},{"taxonomy":"illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fillustrator&post=28371"},{"taxonomy":"photographer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fphotographer&post=28371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}