Challenges and opportunities for urban areas - OCRCase study - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro is a large city of 13.5 million people situated on the south east coast of Brazil in South America. It is the second largest city in Brazil (after São Paulo), and is the 21st largest city in the world. It was the capital city of Brazil up until 1960, when it was replaced by Brasilia.

Rio de Janeiro is nationally important to the country of Brazil. It is a major trading port, with important oil refining and ship-building industries. The main exports from Rio are crude petroleum and semi-finished iron and steel products.

Rio is internationally important as a tourist destination. It is one of the most visited cities in the southern hemisphere. Major attractions include the beaches (eg Copacabana and Ipanema), the statue of Christ the Redeemer (on Corcovado peak), and Sugar Loaf Mountain. Major global sporting events, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympics and Paralympics, have been held here.

Social challenges

Migration

Rio has experienced rapid growth because of rural to urban migration. Huge numbers of people have moved from countryside areas into the city, mainly in search of jobs. This has put a great deal of pressure on services and amenities.

Push factors (driving people away from the countryside) include:

• few job opportunities
• low wages
• difficult and unprofitable farming
• no land ownership
• lack of social amenities
• natural hazards, eg drought

Pull factors (attracting people into the city) include the perception of:

• job opportunities
• higher wages
• better schools and hospitals
• better housing and services (water, electricity, and sewage)
• better transport and communications

Housing

Rapid growth of the city has led to a housing shortage. Most of the rural migrants begin their life in Rio in informal settlements called favelas. Over 20 per cent of the population live in around 1000 favelas in and around the city. They are found mainly on the edges of the city, on poorer quality land that is not suitable for urban development. People here often have no legal rights to the land they occupy.

Many of the favelas in Rio are now well-established. An estimated 95% of favela homes are built of solid materials, such as brick, and around 75% are thought to have tile floors. Some have electricity, running water, televisions, computers and even access the Internet. The newer and less well-established neighbourhoods are overcrowded, consisting of shelters made from materials like timber and corrugated iron.

Transport

Rio de Janeiro’s roads are often congested. The number of cars in the city is increasing as the population rises and people become wealthier.

Education

Children in Rio start school at the age of six. Public schools are free of charge. Each school teaches according to guidelines, but there is no strict curriculum. Violence can be a barrier to education as in some neighbourhoods it is not always safe for children to travel to school.

Environmental challenges

Urban sprawl is an issue as the city continues to grow rapidly, encroaching on surrounding rural (countryside) areas. Air pollution can be a problem, particularly from traffic congestion in the city centre and from industrial zones. Waste disposal is a particular problem in the favelas, where access is difficult and there are no organised sewage or waste recovery systems.

Sustainable strategies to improve the quality of life in the favelas

• To reduce congestion, Rio de Janeiro has invested in public transport. The city has a series of BRT (bus rapid transit) corridors. These are dedicated bus lanes, where passengers pay their fare before they get on the bus. This means that the buses are more reliable and tend to run on time. Around 3.5 million passengers a day travel along the 168km length of the BRT corridors. The corridors are link all types of housing, with some routes saving passengers an average of 40 minutes per trip. The commuting time of some of the poorest residents has been halved. There are fewer cars on the road because of the scheme.
• The Schools of Tomorrow programme has helped to improve the quality of education across the city. The programme targeted 155 schools in Rio’s most violent neighbourhoods. An online learning portal was built to enable students to study from home when classes were cancelled. Teachers from across the city created online classes and assignments to ensure that learning could take place remotely. The programme had a dramatic impact on secondary school students in the Rio’s violent neighbourhoods. Student performance increased and drop-out rates fell. Funding for the programme has now been cut.
• Community groups within the favelas meet regularly to discuss issues such as waste. In 2020 a new project was set up involving young people in the favela. The Young Friends of the Environment (JAMA) program, trains children as young as 14 to be environmental monitors. Their role is to make residents aware of waste management. Any waste that is collected can then be recycled. On a larger scale, the City has built an anaerobic digestion facility. This is a facility that uses bacteria to break down organic waste. The plant deals with up to 35-tons per day, which has led to less waste going into landfill.