Settlement dynamics 6.4

Question 1

What are the main difficulties within informal settlements?

Answer 1

• Residents could be evicted at any time as they do not own the land.
• Houses are not waterproof and are susceptible to the weather.
• Lack of sanitation and water supply leads to diseases such as cholera.
• Lack of electricity supply.
• Extreme poverty and high unemployment.
• High levels of crime and drug/alcohol abuse.

Question 2

What solutions can be provided to informal settlements?

Answer 2

• Low-cost housing schemes can provide basic amenities.
• Self-help schemes can provide groups of people with materials to build proper housing.
• Provision of basic services such as sewerage, piped water, and refuse collection by city authorities.

Question 3

What is a shanty town?

Answer 3

A shanty town or squatter is an area of improvised and underdeveloped buildings typically made of locally accessible materials such as mud and wood.

Question 4

Rio ‘s Favela’s Case Study: facts

Answer 4

• It has 600 squatter settlements (which are known as Favelas).
• South America’s top tourist destination.

Question 5

Rio ‘s Favela’s Case Study: what problems did Rio have?

Answer 5

• Overcrowding: 40% of inhabitants live outside the city.
• Unemployment, underemployment and uneven distribution of wealth
• Housing shortages led to increased informal settlements.
• High crime rates.

Question 6

Rio ‘s Favela’s Case Study: Cable Car in Complexo do Alemao favela

Answer 6

• Cable car was built to enhance access across the favelas and cost R$210 million.
• The cable car covered one of the largest group of favelas in Brazil, consisting of approximately 140,000 residents.
• The cable car also provides a connection to Rio’s railway network, providing an opportunity for people to travel in and out of Rio.
• This has allowed residents to find better jobs for themselves within the real economy as well as those living outside the favelas to work within them in more developed areas such as Rocinha.
• The cable cars enable residents to get from one end of the favela to the other in just 16 minutes.
• Just 6 years after opening in 2011, the government stopped paying operation costs for the cable car and service came to a grinding halt in 2017 just a month after the end of the Olympics.
• Many of the locals believe the cable car was ‘just a political show for the Olympics’.

Question 7

Rio’s Favela’s Case Study: Favela Bairro

Answer 7

• Daycare and after school schemes to look after children whilst their parents works.
• Adult education classes to improve literacy.
• Services to help drug addicts, alcoholics and victims of domestic violence.
• Replacement of wooden buildings with brick.
• Homes on dangerously steep slopes are removed.
• Widening and paving of streets to allow easier access (especially for emergency services).
• Provision of basic services such as clean water, electric and weekly rubbish collection.
• Residents choose which improvements they need in their favela.
• Standard of living has improved.
• Property values have doubled.
• Local businesses have double.

Question 8

Rio’s Favela’s Case Study: Pacification Scheme

Answer 8

• The pacification scheme is a multistage process which has been important to drive out the crime and gangs and establish the first permanent police presence in what had often been no-go areas for security officials.
• The installation of 37 posts has shown to be important to the protection of areas covering 1.5 million people within the favelas, improving the safety of the residents.
• High profile gang leaders being forced out of the favelas because of the pacification scheme has helped to reduce the crime rate.
• Some outlines of the scheme are not being fulfilled with police officers treating residents unfairly or not doing their jobs properly. - - Residents say that after police set up permanent posts in the towns, the state is not following up with programmes and services to improve living.
• Some gangs and drug traffickers have also simply just moved onto other favelas which are not as closely patrolled by the police force meaning the problems of crime remain.

Question 9

Rio’s Favela’s Case Study: Rocinha

Answer 9

• Unlike many other traditional shanty towns, Rocinha has been able to develop into a functioning town with developed infrastructure and many businesses including healthcare centres and banks.
• The majority of the housing is built from concrete and bricks, providing stable accommodation for the residents.
• The key factor with Rocinha is that much of this development has been self-funded and built by the residents over many years.
• Therefore, the government, in this case, are shown not to be important in solving the problems of the shanty towns.