Rio Flashcards
1
Q
What is a characteristic of the favelas?
A
- Located near rubbish dumps with houses constructed from materials such as plywood, plastic and corrugated iron.
- They lack basic services such as clean water and sewerage systems.
- Electricity is often stolen, risk of fires spreading.
2
Q
Are favelas overcrowded?
A
- Yes they are incredibly overcrowded with families of up to 10 living in one or two rooms. There is a lack of privacy.
3
Q
Do diseases spread quickly?
A
- Illnesses such as bronchitis, diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea spread quickly.
4
Q
Is there a low life expectancy?
A
- Low life expectancy – 55 years due to open sewers and poor sanitation. 10 years lower than the CBD.
5
Q
Is there a low or high inftant morality rate?
A
- Higher infant mortality rate – 20 in every 1000 people will not reach their 1st birthday.
6
Q
Is medical care avaliable?
A
- Although medical care is available, it comes at a high cost.
7
Q
Are unemployment rates low or high?
A
- Unemployment rates around 20% and most who are employed are construction workers, maids, bus drivers, hotel workers (often with low pay and no guarantee of day to day work)
8
Q
Is there an education system in Rio?
A
- Little or no education system – children are often pulled into gang crime. Due to no education they are also not able to pass the Vestibular which is the entrance exam into Higher Education.
- High illiteracy rates.
9
Q
Is there criminal gangs or not in Rio?
A
- Criminal gangs control many of the favelas and drug dealing, gun trafficking, kidnapping and murder are common.
- More than 6000 people are killed each year ( a rate similar to a war zone).
- Since favelas are illegal settlements the police are not often seen as they view these as out of their jurisdiction
10
Q
Are mudslides common in Rio’s favelas?
A
- Mudslides cause deaths every year. Caused by the heavy rainfall on Rio’s steep hillsides.
- In April 2010 the heaviest rain in decades was recorded and a landslide in Niteroi caused over 200 deaths with at least 50 homes being destroyed.
- Most of the victims were residents of the favela built on the hills.
11
Q
What is the Self-Help Scheme?
A
- This involved the Brazilian government providing basic materials to help improve their own, and their neighbours homes.
- It is a bottom-up approach.
- The community works with each other to construct or improve their homes which can provide a new skill set to local people who can use this for future employment.
12
Q
What is the Self-Help Scheme? (2)
A
- As money is saved, the local authorities can concentrate on supplying electricity, providing clean water and improving roads.
- Water tanks are used to gather rainwater that is then used in outdoor wash basins and in the bathroom within the house.
- Houses are powered using solar power systems.
13
Q
What is an advantage of the Self-Help Scheme?
A
- Men gained a new skill set and were employed in the construction of the 2016 Olympics.
14
Q
What is the disadvantage of the Self-Help Scheme?
A
- People took more materials than they needed to sell. This meant there was not enough for everyone.
15
Q
What is the Site and Service Scheme?
A
- This is a top-down approach as the Government also trying to upgrade basic services, like paving the roads to allow refuse lorries to collect rubbish, establishing appropriate sewerage systems and installing electricity and street lighting.
16
Q
What is the Site and Service Scheme? (2)
A
- Legalising land ownership for the residents so they are no longer considered squatters.
- Other facilities such as schools and health centres, are also built to transform the favela into an established community
- E.g. Favela Bairro Project.
17
Q
What is an advantage of the Site and Service Scheme?
A
- Street lights helped to reduce crime
- Collection of rubbish reduced disease.
18
Q
What is the disadvantage of the Site and Service Scheme?
A
- People were not educated enough to get into the school that were built - they could not pass the Vestibular exam.
19
Q
What is Project Cingapura?
A
- The Brazilian government cleared large areas of favelas and built tower blocks in their place to rehouse the favela residents.
- The new ‘superblocks’ cost almost 15 times more that the site and service scheme.
20
Q
What is the advantage of Project Cingapura?
A
- People were given safer and more secure homes.
21
Q
What are the disadvantages of Project Cingapura?
A
- People could not afford the rent.
- People had nowhere to live during the construction.
22
Q
What did NGOs do to improve life in the favelas?
A
- e.g. Project Favela help to improve life in the favelas.
- NGO’s also help people find jobs, provide medical care and build schools for children who cannot afford to attend the schools in the city.
- International volunteers to help educate and mentor favela residents to give them the opportunities they need to improve their living conditions.
23
Q
What are the advantages of NGOs?
A
- Cheapest solution
- Children were less likely to be pulled into crime
24
Q
What are the disadvantages of NGOs?
A
- Charities rely on donations
- Charities cannot stay for an infinite amount of time.
25
What is the Pacification Campaign? (1)
- It was established in 2008 to deal with widespread crime in favelas of Rio.
- Police to take back control of the favelas and begin to improve the quality of life for residents. The police reclaimed the favela, street by street.
26
What is the Pacification Campaign? (2)
- Government gave drug dealers and gun traffickers advanced warning to leave the favelas before military police units trained in urban warfare were sent in.
- They searched houses, cars and suspects for drugs and weapons.
27
What is the Pacification Campaign? (3)
- Gangs are forced out and the police restore order and make it safe for town planners, social workers etc to begin establishing social and economic development plans, like those discussed previously, to improve living conditions
28
What are the disadvantages of the Pacification Campaign?
- Due to the police being corrupt, this did not work as an advanced warning was given to criminals.
- 1 in every 23 arrests resulted in death and people were scared of the police.
29
What are the traffic problems in Rio? (1)
- Mountains in the area restrict the movement of traffic within the city leading to a high volume of vehicles building up on city roads.
- Public transport is unreliable and trains on the Supervia suburban railway frequently break down.
30
What are the traffic problems in Rio? (2)
- Delays also occur due to criminality and vandalism.
- Like Glasgow, the subway system is limited and only covers certain areas of the city.
- Favelas have no subway coverage.
31
What are the traffic problems in Rio? (3)
- The subway also experiences regular breakdowns and is grossly overcrowded. 640,000 people use the subway each day.
- Due to this many people choose to walk or cycle around the city but the streets are poorly maintained and there is a lack of traffic lights, which makes this option a dangerous one.
32
What is BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)?
- In the run-up to the 2014 FIFA World cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio invested hugely in public transportation improvements.
- On 1 June 2014, the city opened the second of four bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, called the TransCarioca.
33
What is BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)? (2)
- The new 39 km exclusive bus lanes encompass 45 stations and 5 terminal stations, linking the international airport in the north with residential and commercial areas of the city.
- Each bi-articulated bus is air-conditioned and can carry 180 passengers – transporting more people more quickly than old bus services.
34
What are the advantages of BRT?
- The new buses mean more people are using them, taking cars off the road and reducing emissions.
- Journey times have been reduced by 65%.
35
What are the disadvantages of BRT?
- BRT is still overcrowded with people still forced to stand.
36
What are Cycle Lanes?
- The city added 3.3 km of new protected lanes and cycle paths throughout the city in 2014.
- They have also installed over 1300 bike racks in key locations since 2003, creating safer and easier options for bikers.
- There are over ninety miles of bicycle paths in the city, mainly along the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Flamengo and Lelbon, as well as a path circling Lagoa.
37
What are the advantages of Cycle Lanes?
- This promotes sustainable travel
- Allowing people to move more freely
- Helping Brazil reach its Greenhouse Gas targets
38
What is the Subway System in Rio?
- Rio’s subway system opened in 1979 and has 2 lines covering 26 miles with 35 stations.
- An extension was added in 2004 to the tourist area of Copacabana.
- Further extensions are planned to take pressure off of roads and bridges.
39
What are the advantages of the Subway System in Rio?
- The additional 14km of track between Ipanema and Barra De Tigua will increase capacity by 230,000 passengers a day.
- This is now a more efficient way to travel around the city.
40
What are the Cable Cars in Rio?
- As there is no room for public transport within the favelas themselves cable car systems were constructed in Complexo do Alemao (a large shanty town)
- 155 of these eight-seat cable cars travel between six stations built across the favela.
- This has transformed what used to be an hour-and-a-half commute into the city into a 16-minute sky ride.
41
What is the advantage of Cable cars?
- It has formed a connection between the city and the favelas.
42
What is the disadvantage of Cable cars?
- It costed 74 million dollars that the residents felt could have been spent elsewhere, (sewerage, clean water, education etc)
43
What is the Rio Niteori Bridge?
- The Rio Niteroi bridge is 14 km long and was one of the longest in the world when it opened in 1974.
- It connects Rio with the city of Niteroi across Guanabarra Bay, providing a shorter alternative to an 80 km road journey or a one-hour ferry crossing.
- However, due to rising levels of car ownership, each end of the bridge is completely jammed during rush hour causing major congestion.
44
What are the traffic problems in Rio (4) ?
- The bus network is also overcrowded with more than 4 million passengers a day.
- The cost of a single bus journey in Rio de Janeiro is one of the most expensive in Brazil.
