The Favela-Bairro Project

The Favela-Bairro Project

1. The Favela-Bairro Project helps poor people to live in favelas.

2. Often the poorest people in urban areas are the worst affected by the problems of urban growth. Urban planning schemes help to reduce the impact of these problems and improving the quality of life for the poor urban people. An example of an urban planning scheme is the Favela-Bairro Project in Rio de Janeiro.

   • Rio de Janeiro is the south-east of Brazil. It has more than 600 squatter settlements (called favelas), housing 1/5 of the cities population which is more than 1 million people.
   • The Favela-Bairro project has been running from 1995-2008 and has involved 253, 000 in 73 favelas. It has lead to:
     • Social improvements
       • There are now day care centres for children, adult education classes and services to help young people with drug and alcohol addictions.
     • Economic Improvements
       • It helps people get legal ownership of their properties.
       • They also have training schemes to help people find better job.
     • Environment Improvements
       • Wooden buidings are being replaced with brick buildings. Bricks are much more stable than wood, especially withholding windy conditions.
       • Street have been widened and paved so people can get around easier.
       • There are now rubbish collections which happen on a much more regular basis