Tag Archives: favela

Competition and Boundary

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As described by Daniela Fabricius in her article “Resisting Representation”, Rio de Janiero is a city filled with urban islands, favelas, which are geographically and culturally isolated. However the fact is that these urban islands are tied to the city with submerged structure. Favelas are everywhere in Rio. “The geography of marginality is identified with the people themselves, even if the place they inhabit is at the core of the city.”(3, Fabricius) The boundaries that separate favelas with formal sector are controlled by the competition between the formal and informal everyday.

Infrastructure, as the current flowing and connecting the city with favelas, is one main aspect in the competition. “Control over urban space is exercised not only through the ownership of property but also through the monopolization infrastructures.” (5, Fabricius) It’s interesting that the infrastructure in favelas is added after the informal settlement formed, as the reverse process of the inhabitation of formal cities with the grid and infrastructure installed first. It’s caused not only because favelas are all self-built, but also the formal infrastructural service provided by state and foreign companies is expansive and inconvenience for favela residence. In this situation, Gatos come out and dominate the competition. Illegal connections are made to legal sources of water and electricity in order to provide necessary infrastructure for favela residence that are unable to get formal utility. Gatos make the extension and connection within the system, at the same time, they provide possibility for representing the informal citizenship:

“citizenship is defined not only by an address but also by one’s utility bills, account numbers, and listing in a phone book, being connected by gatos creates vast populations that are by official standards undefined and unaccounted for, but in truth already intensely linked with the city.” (6, Fabricius)

The informal practice reveals its strength again in the competition on transportation. The routes of vans are organized based on favela residence’s demand. Also, “these vans provide the fastest and often the only way to reach the city centers.” (6, Fabricius) There seems no way for government regulation to help in the competition because of the illegality and flexibility of vans and the “van mafia”.

One the other hand, the government tries to take back control over the favelas through series of practices of “the favela pacification progress”. In the article “ Pacification and 24 Hour Surveillance in Rocinha”, author Carman introduces the competitive condition between government force and the drug gangs in favelas. The favelas become the battlefield of the invasion of these two forces. Rocinha becomes the “best watched place in the world” due to “cameras monitors watching nearly everything that goes on in public in Rocinha.” (Carman)

Three groups involving in these competitions are favela residence, government and illegal armed group. They are creating and defining the boundary of the favelas through the choice in the competitions.

 

1.Fabricius, Daniela, “Resisting Representation”
2.Carman, Andrew,”Pacification and 24 Hour Surveillance in Rocinha”, http://favelissues.com/2013/02/14/pacification-and-24-hour-surveillance-in-rocinha/

Defining the Favela

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For a long time it has been the case that many maps of cities in Brazil and Latin America have not accounted accurate street representations of favelas for the reason that the positioning of roads and homes changes frequently due to the flexible nature of these neighborhoods. For this reason many favelas that are densely populated simply appeared as blanks within the maps of many cities. However, with the advent of technology such as satellite imaging and street views  have allowed for onsite pictures to be taken of these neighborhoods and as a result has connected them with the larger city context in a way never before seen. Furthermore, it has put into perspective the physical and social inequalities that exist in many of these cities.

Obtaining photographs and any sort of information from these neighborhoods as a Daniela Fabricius states, “once required bureaucratic privileges” [1] for the reason that the cities organization was guarded information mostly kept away from the public. By looking at many satellite images of the urban organization of these cities one begins to understand the ruptures that exist in the urban fabric and the almost cell like growth of the favelas. The ability to then have public access to the conditions of how these people live have allowed for a public outcry not only from Brazilians but also from foreigners who demand a better representation of these individuals. Recording how many individuals live within these neighborhoods is at the heart of governmental representation but even this sometimes fails as government officials fluctuate in the actual population of the same sectors and differentiate with the population claimed by the inhabitants themselves. As a result many favela run initiatives have been created in order to create correct estimates of population. The favela of Mare for example, “ has set up its own information gathering center, which takes unofficial but accurate census data of the neighborhood” [1]  These initiatives not only hold power because they present clearer and more official forms of data but also because they are initiatives created by the neighborhood itself thus empowering the community.

A favela is hard to define because while the creation of informal settlements is the “root” of it many times city planned neighborhoods develop into “favela like” areas.  Some of the favela’s in Rio de Janeiro are quite old, Providencia for example is 100 years old and it is considered one of Rio’s first favela. Favela’s began to grow on hilltops separated in many cases from the rest of the city by the verticality of the topography in which they grew. Made up of a population of rural newcomers the rural culture sometimes found in these settlements also contrasted with the urban culture of the city “below”. Interestingly enough, when the favelas began spreading and touching with the confines of the city the isolation felt within these neighborhoods was still the same. Crime, poverty, and disease were still adjectives associated with these areas of the city and as a result these citizens became even further marginalized from society.

The term informal or favela is in a sense an “economic and sociological description of cities.” However, what is often forgotten is that favelas are a result of modern conditions. They are not creations of a less civilized way of life instead it is a response to the modern achievements and affluent way of life of those in Brazil and the rest of the world. Furthermore, the unique culture of these places should not be forgotten because they are part of human adaption in the process. Like the many cultural fruits that came from many informal situations in Europe, Asia, North America these are creating their own fruits that will result in a culture very much a port of modern times.

 

  1. Aquilino, Marie J, “Beyond Shelter Architecture and Human Dignity” (Metropolis; July/August 2011, Vol. 31 Issue 1) p88-89

Urban Acupuncture Reiterated

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It’s really exciting to regularly see connections between the different readings that are done throughout this class. Particularly an overlap of ideas and thoughts regarding issues of informal and formal cities. One thing I have been particularly interested in since the beginning of our discussions has been what Urban Think Tank call, “Urban Acupuncture”. This term has come up a few times under this label, and has come up multiple times as a concept. It refers to the connection between the formal and the informal parts of the city. According to the Designing Inclusive Cities, the fact of the matter is that “We are not able to make services available as quickly as the growth.” (Smith 13) Informal cities exist. And they are often growing much faster than their formal counterparts. According to Cynthia Smith, Urban Think Tank, and many other thinkers, one of the best solutions is “hybrid solutions that bridge the formal and informal city.” (Smith 13) It’s often the case that entrepreneurship that has formed through the opportunities in the informal city become integrated with the formal city; showing that the two co-exist. A discussion that came up during class last week was how the architect contributes to the informal city – or if they do at all. At the end of this brief discussion, we began to realize that architects, of course, contribute to the formal city, which by it’s characteristics creates opportunities for the informal city to latch on. The motorbike taxis in Dakar are quintessential to the blurred line between the formal and the informal. These taxis are a form of cheap transport, and offer services to all types of people. Instead of getting rid of these ‘illegal’ services, the government decided to register them and provide signs to make them more distinguishable. This is the perfect example of the Urban Acupuncture, or the bridge between the formal and the informal.

According to Worlds Set Apart, Sao Paulo is a “city is made not only of opposed social and spatial worlds but also of clear distances between them.” (Caldeira 168) This creates an immediate donut-like diagram where the center is the ‘formal’ city made up of middle and upper class, and the surrounding area of the donut is the ‘informal’ city where the lower class are spreading to the periphery. A solution to this was often thought to be to expand the infrastructure of the city to the periphery and provide basic living necessities to the residents of the periphery. Such actions could have major impacts on the survival rate of new born children, lower crime rates, less drug use, less diseases, etc. Sao Paulo and the favelas is a great example of this. Jorge Mario Jaurequi is an architect who has had multiple Favela-Barrio projects which are designs to create a better sense of connection between the formal/informal and improve living standards. His projects, often simple interventions, are an example of what a big impact small scale changes can have. The connection between the formal and the informal is crucial, and it is almost a necessity that the two exist together. (Jaurequi 60) He values the importance of being able to recognize the ‘other’ – the 90% of the world’s population which is often ignored during design by design professionals. (Smith) Jaurequi encourages us to recognize the ‘other’ in order to insert more humanitarian designs into our lives.

Works Cited

Caldeira, Teresa. “Worlds Set Apart.” LSE Cities. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

Jaurequi, Jorge M. “Articulating The Broken City and Society.” Architectural Design 81.3 (n.d.): 58-63. Print.

Smith, Cynthia E. Design with the Other 90%: Cities. New York: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2011. Print.

Helping the other “Half”

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Informal settlements around the world have begun to catch the attention of not only philanthropists but also of design driven professions such as architects, engineers, and artist of all types have found potential in the rejuvenation of these locations. Architecture firms such as Metropolis Projetos Urbanos have added into their design purpose the rejuvenation of spaces deemed lost to informality by the citizens of the city. Artist such as JR have also created projects utilizing the buildings in the favelas of Rio as a canvas to portray the stories held within the boundaries of the neighborhood.
In the past designers have exclusively focused on designing for a very small margin of the world population that can provide money for planned designs. As Cynthia Smith states, “ Professional designers have traditionally focused on the 10 % of the world’s population that can afford their goods and services”.[1] Currently, there seems to be a trend to incorporate newly commercialized forms of technology in order to incorporate sectors of society that in the past have been previously ignored. In part recent advances in technology such as Google earth, YouTube, and the internet in general have allowed individuals from developed countries to observe the way of life of individuals who are not as fortunate as they are. This has gathered the attention of designers who want to place power in their own hands and solve as Smith states, “solve the world’s most critical problems”. [1]
The individuality of each informal settlement as a result of the structural and formal adaptations it has undergone to adjust to the context of its site must be considered when designs are being created. Firms such as Proyecto Arqui5 identified the uniqueness of the La Vega community in Caracas. As a result, the stair design that incorporated water sewage systems throughout the settlement was designed with not only with the sites context in mind but also the needs of the people who inhabit the spaces as well. Other organizations like Surat City have utilized the internet to aid in the development among the poor over the effects of global warming in the community. Creating a solution is important but making sure the solution works with existing factors such as topography, climate, geography, displaced individuals, and famine is crucial because this can actually help the neighborhood evolve beyond its present situation.
Creating solutions for the neighborhood must go along with bridging the divide that exists in many cases with the formal city. Through projects of infrastructure, construction of social, security, medical, and health facilities one can create situations where the informal has been incorporated into the rest of the city and instigated a feeling of self-worth within the inhabitants of these localities. As Jorge Mario Jauregui writes in his article, “The aim is to articulate the divided city and society by providing greater accessibility, investments in infrastructure, new public social facilities, and environmental revitalization, connecting the formal and the informal parts of the city” [2].
To employ these policies a step by step process must be undertaken that truly involves the community in the actions that will take place in the community. Site visits have to be included in order for the architect, artist, designer, etc. to be able to have a better understanding of the surroundings she/he will be designing for. One thing is to assume the problems of the community but another is to actually talk with members or representatives who actually know the issue the community has to deal with on a daily basis. Researching the history of the community where each person comes from and why things are the way they are critical in creating a better future for the communities.
The advancements in technology have created a more connected world that gives the possibility to understand each other’s problems. As a result this has created interest in various fields in regards to helping those in less than ideal living situations. However, as help is brought to these people the different steps must be considered because they lead to solutions that can really go for the root problems not just the superficial ones and in effect have a longer lasting imprint in the lives of those we want to help.

1. Cynthia E. Smith, Designing Inclusive Cities, ( New York : Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2011)p. 13- 29
2. Jorge Mario Jauregui, “Articulating The Broken City and Society”, ( Architectural Design , 18 April 2011), p. 58-63

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