Conceived Versus Lived Social Spaces and the Transformation of the Morro da Providência Favela of Rio de Janeiro since 2008 (original) (raw)
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Mental Mapping the Transformation of Social Space in Rio's Oldest Favela: Morro da Provid�ncia
2022
Amid the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, strategic policy reforms at the federal, state, and municipal levels have reordered and re-purposed the social space of Rio's favelas through the implementation of social and physical infrastructure. This research project contributes a geographical perspective to the ways in which fast-paced urbanization transforms and produces social space in Rio's oldest favela, Morro da Providência. Based on Henri Lefebvre's conceptual triad concerning the production of social space, this research uses mental mapping to understand the disparity between representations of conceived space and representational lived space. It also contributes to perceived social space through participant observations and discussions. The five-month long mental mapping project designed to assess the transformation of social space yielded several results. Methodologically, this research contributes to the literature on mental mapping by identifying three types of mental maps produced by my participants. Practically, this research contributes to the discourse concerning social and political integration within the favela-city binary. Ultimately, this project contributes a geographical perspective and methodology to the ways in which fast-paced urbanization can be successfully implemented as long-term solutions in the low-income and irregular communities in Rio de Janeiro. Mega-events serve as high-profile events to provide a "stimulus to, and justification for" economic, environmental, and social development strategies (Andranovich, Burbank, & Heying, 2001: 113). The ability of a city to compete in a global marketplace by hosting a world-class event and showcasing the city's modern infrastructure, guarantees renewed tourism, employment, and future international investment (Greene, 2003). As the landscape changes, many citizens are undoubtedly be confronted with a substantial reorganization of physical space and social strategies of urban catharsis. However, if all stakeholders in Rio are not participating in the planning process, government-led policing policies, subsequent evictions, land value increases, and gentrification could provide very unique and negative impacts on the landscape. Literature on Varied Approaches to Mental Mapping The "visionary intellectuals and planners behind them were guilty of hubris, of forgetting that they were mere mortals and acting as if they were gods"-James C. Scott Chapter Four Project Methodology "The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!"-Randy Pausch
Public spaces of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas
Public spaces are vital parts of the city, contributing to its quality of life, and are a reflection of both their qualities and problems. Favelas are informal settlements, built organically according to the needs of their residents, but suffering from stigma and thus are the place of top-down projects and militarisation of public spaces. This paper explores how public spaces can be an important spectrum to read the urban dynamics in the favelas and what the effects of State intervention on public life are there. Through observations and interviews, I gained knowledge about the public space and the users’ experience of it. In this research paper, the methodology of public life studies and the specificity of the favela context interact to create a reflection on the possibility of another urbanism, based on the qualities of the communities and their adaptive physical environment, and the potential for green infrastructure in the dense city. Key words: favela, informal settlement, public space, top-down, urbanism, placemaking, green infrastructure
Visual Studies, 2012
As the curtains are drawn in London's East End, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro will be under the international spotlight over the next four years. This paper focuses on the process of Olympic city-making in the West End of Rio de Janeiro, where the planning and construction of facilities and transport network have adversely affected low-income settlements. The planning of the Olympic Park has become the latest episode in a series of attempts to drive out one of the longest established poor settlements in the borough of Barra da Tijuca. Attention is given to the changing discourse justifying the relocation and the context in which residents have resisted eviction. In another case study, the paper considers the construction of Bus Rapid Transit corridors aimed to improve access to the area. In this instance, some communities were not able to avoid eviction, being relocated to the western edges of the city or financially compensated. Analysis of the eviction process is drawn from material collected by visiting the affected communities. The paper concludes by reflecting on the inexorability of Olympic city-making and entitlement to the emerging geographies.
Between Transience and Permanence: the Public Policy of Favela Removals in Rio
The public policy of favela removals in Rio de Janeiro, which the government has been executing for decades, shows how the public power sees the favela space as a transitory one. The State often proposes the removal of people from their homes in order to transfer them to new spaces, which are perceived as complying with official standards of living, for example, in places where people have to participate in activities that force their integration, and a sort of permanence in the new place. This policy shows that the State has a stereotyped perception of this social segment, which violates their lives both symbolically and materially. This paper aims to analyze how Rio de Janeiro's government assesses the removal policy nowadays, in its view of the favela as a transitory place, and how the imposition of permanence has become violent, as it imposes ideas and symbols. To achieve this objective, we present the history of favela removals in Rio de Janeiro as well as their relations to the household projects of each studied period. In doing so, we intend to shed a light on the type of city that is organized, and how this affects its sociability and social life.
The revanchist logic of mega-events: community displacement in Rio de Janeiro's West End
Visual Studies, 2012
As the curtains are drawn in London’s East End, Brazil and Rio de Janeiro will be under the international spotlight over the next four years. This paper focuses on the process of Olympic city-making in the West End of Rio de Janeiro, where the planning and construction of facilities and transport network have adversely affected low-income settlements. The planning of the Olympic Park has become the latest episode in a series of attempts to drive out one of the longest established poor settlements in the borough of Barra da Tijuca. Attention is given to the changing discourse justifying the relocation and the context in which residents have resisted eviction. In another case study, the paper considers the construction of Bus Rapid Transit corridors aimed to improve access to the area. In this instance, some communities were not able to avoid eviction, being relocated to the western edges of the city or financially compensated. Analysis of the eviction process is drawn from material collected by visiting the affected communities. The paper concludes by reflecting on the inexorability of Olympic city-making and entitlement to the emerging geographies.
Favelas in Rio de Janeiro: New Approaches to a Singular Landscape
Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of Art History (Beijing, 2016), 2019
Favela is a Brazilian word for a sort of urban settlement spread around the world as slums, but it is also a ‘term’ for a particular landscape representation. For centuries, widely circulated visual images promoted Rio de Janeiro’s landscape as a monumental combination of city and nature. These narratives evoked feelings and attitudes towards Brazilian nature and attributed meanings and values to the city, as to those who headed political, economic, and environmental changes in the former capital of the country. The favelas that cropped up in the late 19th century became soon a social and an aesthetic problem to the so called “marvelous city”, connoting squalid, overcrowded, and chaotic urban squatters. The paper examines photographs and paintings that reinforced these labels along the 20th century, but also other cultural values that emerged from this complex reality. In recent years, as photography changed into an affordable practice for those who live in the favelas, digital photographers and visual artists are transforming their surroundings into new compositional challenges for viewing landscapes and other art works. Exploring technical and aesthetic possibilities, they are combining traditional references of landscape representation with their own explorations on the field, in order to create a personal framing for these urban imaginaries. TURAZZI, Maria Inez. Favelas in Rio de Janeiro: New Approaches to a Singular Landscape. In: 34th World Congress of ArtHistory, 2019, Pequim. Proceedings of the 34th World Congress of Art History. Pequim: The Commercial Press, 2019. v. 2. p. 1164-1170.