{"id":32519,"date":"2016-10-11T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2016-10-11T11:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=32519"},"modified":"2017-07-25T09:13:25","modified_gmt":"2017-07-25T12:13:25","slug":"the-importance-and-challenges-of-putting-favelas-on-the-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=32519","title":{"rendered":"The Importance and Challenges of Putting Favelas on the Map"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Mapping Rio de Janeiro\u2019s favelas can be a\u00a0contentious political and social issue, and\u00a0the debate\u00a0has only amplified\u00a0in the last few years, as Rio hosted increasingly high-profile global mega-events<\/a> like the 2014 World Cup<\/a> and this year’s Summer Olympics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Google’s efforts to delete\u00a0and then map favelas<\/h3>\n

In 2013, reportedly at the request of the city government\u00a0and tourism companies<\/a>, Google removed the word “favela,”<\/a>\u00a0and often any labels of the communities themselves,\u00a0from its maps of Rio\u2013communities which represent nearly one-quarter\u00a0of Rio\u2019s population. Searches yielded entirely wrong results or none at all, and\u00a0the densely populated areas appeared on the map as beige-tinted blank spaces, or, at best, a series\u00a0of empty outlines of squares that vaguely suggested houses.<\/p>\n

The absence of favelas from the world\u2019s most ubiquitous\u00a0mapping tool has serious practical\u00a0consequences\u2013local businesses<\/a> and street names do\u00a0not appear\u00a0in search results, making it even more challenging for anyone\u00a0unfamiliar with the neighborhoods\u00a0to access reliable directions\u2013as well as less tangible, symbolic\u00a0repercussions for residents.<\/p>\n

“For me, the fact\u00a0of not being on the map, creates\u00a0a sense of exclusion<\/a>. That we are not part of the city, that we are not part of the traditional script,” said Paulinho Otaviano, a resident and local guide in Santa Marta<\/a>, in an interview in\u00a0Todo Mapa Tem Um Discurso<\/em><\/a> (Every Map Has a Discourse), a documentary that explores questions of mapping, geography, identity and representation in Rio’s favelas.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t make sense for us to be excluded from this reality,” he added.<\/p>\n