Geography - Urban issues and challenges - Rio

Second most populous city in Brazil (over 6.5 million residents), second wealthiest city in Brazil ($201 billion GDP, contributes 5% Brazil’s total GDP), 20% of city in slums

• REGIONALLY:
• Rio de Janeiro is capital to the state of Rio de Janeiro
• Rio concentrates 68% of the state's economic strength
• NATIONALLY:
• Until 1960, Rio was the capital of Brazil
• It's the nation's culture capital with over 50 museums and the famous annual carnival
• It's headquarters to Brazilian oil/mining companies including TNCs, Petrobras/Vale
• Major Brazilian entertainment and media organisations are based in Rio
• Home to many universities/institutes, accounts for 17% of national scientific output
• INTERNATIONALLY:
• Rio is a UNESCO World Heritage site and staged 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics
• One of most visited cities in Southern Hemisphere, due to natural surroundings
• The statue of Christ the Redeemer is one of the Seven New Wonders of the World
• It is an international transport hub, with 5 ports and 3 airports
• It has a major port, exporting coffee, sugar and iron ore produced in Brazil
• Rio is considered a 'global city' due to its importance in the global economy

• Many more, better paid jobs created
• Brings money into Brazil
• Boosts the tourist economy
• More services provided
• Sense of community
• Internationally recognised (attracts TNCs/international companies)
• More choices for people living there (variety of jobs, better education and healthcare)
• More diverse, rich in culture
• New skills brought to city
• Raises taxes to be invested in city
• Higher quality of living available

• Over crowding
• Not enough housing/facilities, a lack of sanitation, and poor education
• Damaging for the landscape and local environment
• Not enough jobs and people don’t have any/good enough skills for work = lots of unemployment
• Spread of diseases
• High taxes, but no benefits being seen
• Pollution
• Poverty and homelessness
• Higher crime rates (drug trafficking)

Challenges:

• In 2013, only 55% of the city had a local family health clinic
• Services for pregnant women and the elderly were very poor, especially...
• ...in the West Zone:
• Infant Mortality Rate was 21 per 1000
• Only 60% of pregnant women got medical care
• Life expectancy was just 45 (compared to 80 in middle class area of Barra da Tijuca)

Solutions:

• Medical staff go to houses with medical kits that can detect 20 different diseases that they are able to treat
• Since this, the infant mortality rate has decreased and life expectancy has increased

Challenges:

• Education in Brazil is compulsory for all children aged 6-14
• In Rio, only half of all children continue their education beyond the age of 14
• Many drop out of school and some get involved in drug trafficking
• The level of school involvement in Rio is low due to:
• A shortage of nearby schools
• A lack of money and need to work
• A shortage of teachers
• Low pay and poor training for teachers

Solutions:

• Encourage local people to volunteer to help in schools
• Give school grants to poor families to help them meet the cost of keeping their children in school
• Make money available to pay for free lessons in sport in Rocinha favela
• Open a private university in Rocinha

Challenges:

• Around 12% of Rio's population did not have access to running water
• It is estimated that 37% of water is lost through leaky pipes, fraud, and illegal access
• The situation has become worse in recent years

Solutions:

• 7 new treatment plants were built between 1998 and 2014
• Over 3km of pipes were laid
• By 2014, 95% of the population had a mains water supply

Challenges:

• The whole city suffers frequent blackouts due to a shortage of electricity
• The growing population and the demands of the Olympics made the situation worse
• Many people living in the poorer parts of Rio get their electricity by illegally tapping into the mains supply, which is risky and unsafe

Solutions:

• Installed 60km of new power lines
• Built a new nuclear generator
• Developed the new Simplicio hydro-electric complex which will increase Rio's supply of electricity by 30%
• It took 6 years to build and cost over $2 billion

• Rio's large population, financial sector, port facilities and industrial areas have contributed to Rio’s rapid economic development
• The city now provides more than 6% of all employment in Brazil
• Oil has been discovered just off the coast and this has encouraged the growth of oil related industries
• Economic development has brought improvements to Rio’s roads, transport, services and environment
• The growth of Rio’s industrial areas has boosted the city’s economy
• Rio has one of the highest incomes per head in the country, and the city’s retail and consumer sector is a major source of employment
• A growing number of jobs are provided by service industries, such as finance
• Growing economic prosperity has attracted large companies to Rio from other parts of Brazil and South America, as well as from abroad
• These developments have created a range of new economic opportunities in the formal economy

• Unemployment rates in the favelas are over 20%, and most work is in the informal sector, which is poorly paid (less than £60 a month) and irregular
• About one third of Rio’s 3.5 million workers don’t have a formal employment contract, and many are without any insurance cover or unemployment benefit
• They do not pay taxes as the government receives no income from them
• Despite the growth of job opportunities in the city, unemployment is one reason why there are such wide contrasts in wealth in Rio
• The richest 1% of the population earns 12% of the total income
• But the income of the poorest 50% is only 13% of the total
• Brazil’s economy was hit by a deep recession in 2015, which has increased unemployment
• Robbery and violent crime present great challenges in Rio
• Murder, kidnapping, carjacking and armed assault occur regularly
• Street crime is a problem, especially at night
• Powerful gangs control drug trafficking in many areas of the favela

Challenges:

• Air pollution causes 5000 deaths per year in Rio
• Heavy traffic causes a build up of exhaust fumes
• Factory chimneys release pollutants
• The number of cars has grown by over 40%

Solutions:

• Improvements have been aimed at reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality:
• Expansion of the metro system under Guanabara Bay to South Zone and Barra da Tijuca
• New toll roads into the city centre to reduce congestion
• Making coast roads one-way during rush hours, to improve traffic flow

Challenges:

• Guanabara Bay is highly polluted, causing a threat to wildlife
• Commercial fishing has declined by over 90% in the last 20 years
• If pollution affects Ipanema and Copacabana then the tourist industry could be threatened
• Rivers flowing into the bay are heavily polluted by over 200 tonnes of raw sewerage from the favelas each day
• Over 50 tonnes of industrial waste enters the bay each day
• There have been oil spills from the Petrobras refinery
• Ships empty their fuel tanks in the bay

Solutions:

• Overseas aid has been used to reduce the amount of sewerage being released into the bay:
• 12 new sewerage works have been built since 2004 at a cost of US$68 million
• Ships are fined for discharging fuel into the bay illegally
• 5km of new sewerage pipes have been installed around badly polluted areas

Challenges:

• The worst waste is in the favelas which...
• ...are built on steep slopes and...
• ...have few proper roads...
• ...so waste collection is difficult
• Waste is therefore dumped
• This causes diseases like cholera and encourages rats
• The world's largest landfill Jardin Gramacho was built on ecologically sensitive wetland in 1970s, adjacent to the bay, and was closed in 2012 after 34 years of operation

Solutions:

• A power plant has been set up near the University of Rio using methane gas (biogas) from rotting rubbish
• It consumes 30 tonnes of rubbish a day
• It produces enough electricity for 1000 homes

• HOUSING:
• illegal, unplanned, crowded
• poor quality, built with waste materials
• unstable and at risk of falling (especially in a landslide)
• SERVICES:
• limited access to public services such as healthcare and education
• no public transport, no waste collection, no official law enforcement
• lack of running water/electricity/sanitation
• CRIME:
• drug trafficking, gang violence, kidnapping, carjacking, murder rate is 20 per 1000
• EMPLOYMENT:
• high unemployment rates
• informal sector, businesses not paying taxes
• manual, low paid work (street sellers/shoe shiners/collecting from rubbish tips)
• HEALTH:
• poor health, lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality rate
• no access to good healthcare
• unsanitary conditions, sewage, rats, rubbish dumping = spread of diseases
• lack of contraception = higher birth rate

• A site and service scheme is where the local authority provides land and services for residents to build homes
• paved and formally named roads
• access to a water supply and drainage system for improved sanitation
• hillsides secured to prevent landslides, or people relocated where necessary
• building of new health, leisure and education facilities
• installation of a cable car system across the Complexo do Alemão hillsides (inhabitants are given one free return ticket a day)
• access to credit to allow inhabitants to buy materials to improve their homes
• 100% mortgages available for people to buy their homes
• a Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) set up, with police patrolling the community
• Quality of life, mobility and employment prospects of the inhabitants of the favelas has improved because of the developments made possible by the project
• It has been recognised as a model by the UN and been used in other Brazilian cities
• The budget of US$1 billion may not cover every favela
• The newly built infrastructure is not being maintained
• Residents lack the skills and resources to make repairs
• More training is needed to improve literacy and employment
• Rents rise in the improved favelas and the poorest inhabitants are even worse off