Background Information to help with your Favela Research

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Background Information to help with your Favela
Research
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Problems faced in LEDC cities as a result of
rapid urbanisation

1. Poor electricity and power supplies
2. Pollution
3. Lack of clean water
4. Few employment opportunities
5. Traffic problems
6. Poverty
7. Drugs, gangs and violence
8. Poor education and health provision
9. Poor sewerage systems
10. Poor rubbish collection
11. Lack of shelter

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Task
Sort the problems caused by urban growth and
development of shanty towns into social,
environmental economic.
Shanty towns are built on poor quality or unsafe
land so are prone to flooding/landslides/fires
Increase in crime
Health Problems EG Asthma Bronchitis caused by
pollution
Traffic Congestion as cars/buses/rickshaws/animals
all share same roads
Poverty
Water pollution rivers/seas used as dustbins
Sewage on streets leads to water borne disease
such as cholera/diarrhoea
Unemployment as there are few jobs in formal
sector.
High birth rates
Poor quality building materials and a lack of
basic amenities eg running water/toilets in
shanty towns
Air pollution/Smog from car fumes and factories
More street children
Rural migrants cant find jobs because they are
often illiterate or non-skilled so the informal
sector grows.
Break up of families
Malnutrition
Up to 50 of the population live in Shanty towns
Underground water supplies being lost.
Wages are low paid and workers are exploited.
Overcrowding
As shanty towns are built agricultural
land/woodland is destroyed.
Shanty towns are illegal
Disease spreads quickly because of high density
housing.
High Infant mortality rates
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Shanty Towns

• One problem in LEDC cities is the growth of
  Shanty Towns.
• A shanty town is a spontaneous settlement that is
  often built illegally on unused land along
  roadsides or on the edge of a city.
• In Brazil they are called FAVELAS

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Problems/Characteristics of Shanty Towns

• EDUCATION
• is limited as there are very few schools. Many,
  even by the age of 6, are trying to earn some
  money.
• TRANSPORT
• earth tracks that often just fill up with
  rubbish. Few public transport systems.
• SOCIAL
• is under constant threat. The factors listed
  above can lead to break down of marriages.
  Increase in crime and street children.

• HOUSING
• is often a collection of primitive shacks made
  from any available material. Most houses lack
  such basic amenities as electricity, gas, running
  water and sewerage. No refuse collection.
• HEALTH
• lack of clean water, no disposal of human waste
  and rubbish lead to disease. Can't afford doctors.

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Improving Shanty Towns

• Although most governments would like to remove
  shanty towns from their cities, they cannot
  afford to build the necessary replacement
  accommodation.
• Two government-assisted schemes in Brazil aimed
  at improving the quality of life in the
  shantytowns are
• Low-cost Improvements
• Existing housing is improved by re-building with
  cheap, quick and easy to use breezeblocks. A tank
  of water on the roof collects rainwater.
  Electricity and sewerage may by added. Most
  people who live in these will have some sort of
  employment so that they can pay low rents.
• Self-help schemes
• Groups of people are encouraged to help build
  their new homes. Each group will do basic work
  such as digging the ditches to take the water and
  sewerage pipes. The local authority will then
  provide breezeblocks and roofing tiles, and the
  group will provide the labour. The advantages of
  this is that it can be done in stages and create
  a community spirit.

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The government puts in basic services such as
clean water and sewerage and provides building
materials, such as breezeblocks. The families
then get together and help build the homes (Some
being trained as plumbers, some electricians and
so on.) This means that the buildings are
relatively cheep, hygienic and creates good
community spirit.
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Case Study - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de
Janeiro is a city located on Brazil's south-east
coast. It is one of Brazil's largest settlements
with a population of approximately 11.7 million
people. The population of Rio de Janeiro has
grown for a number of reasons. Natural Increase
is one reason for its growth (this is when the
birth rate is higher than the death rate). The
population has also grown as the result of
urbanisation. 65 of urban growth is a result of
migration.
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What are the impacts of rapid urban growth for
Rio?

• Housing pressures (growth of favelas such as
  Rocinha. 40 live in Favelas)
• Lack of employment means people are looking for
  other ways to earn money many will work in the
  informal sector e.g. porters, shoe shiners this
  is employment for half the citys work force
• Transport problems congestion and pollution
• Sanitation and Health (sewage, waste disposal,
  disease)
• Problems of energy supply
• Increased demand for services (schools and
  Hospitals)
• Social problems (crime, Rio murder capital of
  world)
• Urban sprawl
• Shanty towns are built on unstable land of poor
  materials risk of landslides fires.

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Example of a Favela Rocinha

• Rocinha is the largest favela in Brazil.
• It is located in the southern zone of the city.
• It is built on a steep hillside overlooking the
  city, just one kilometer from the beach.
• It is home to between 60,000 to 150,000 people
  (though this could be more).

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Solutions to problems in Rocinha
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Self-help schemes - Rocinha, Favela Bairro Project

1. The authorities in Rio de Janeiro have taken a
   number of steps to reduce problems in favelas.
2. They have set up self-help schemes. This is when
   the local authority provide local residents with
   the materials needs to construct permanent
   accommodation. This includes breeze blocks and
   cement. The local residents provide the labour.
   The money saved can be spent on providing basic
   amenities such as electricity and water.Today,
   almost all the houses in Rocinha are made from
   concrete and brick.
3. Some buildings are three and four stories tall
   and almost all houses have basic sanitation,
   plumbing, and electricity.
4. Compared to simple shanty towns or slums, Rocinha
   has a better developed infrastructure and
   hundreds of businesses such as banks, drug
   stores, bus lines, cable television, including
   locally based channel TV ROC, and, at one time,
   even a McDonalds franchise, though it has since
   closed.

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What are the sustainable solutions to other
problems in Rio?

• Forced evictions of squatter settlements To
  clear land for formal development
• Low cost housing Very basic breeze block
  housing constructed. People re-housed in them.
  City of God
• Site and Service Land is cleared and building
  plots prepared with water and electricity.
• Self Help Scheme Existing settlements provided
  with water, sewage and rubbish collection.
  Building materials provided for residents to
  upgrade their homes (Favela Barrio Plan)
• Rural Development To reduce rural to urban
  migration
• Increasing policing - to stop new squatter
  settlement
• Raise taxes - on the rich to pay for improving
  housing for the poor
• Local initiatives such as Afro-Reggae using
  music and culture to keep kids away from crime
  and drugs

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LAND USE IN AN LEDC