Have a clear idea about what a favela is
Be able to explain the problems found in Favelas
A shanty town or favela is an area in or near a city in which poorer people live in small, badly built houses.
Many are built along transport routes e.g railway lines, next to factories, on waste tips and waste land.
They tend to be unplanned and are often illegal.
Houses are self-built using basic materials and shanty towns have few services.
Answer these questions in your head or scribble quick written answers down now:
1.Are the favelas dirty?
2.What do favelas smell like?
3.Would you ever want to visit a Favela?
Now watch the video and answer them again.
Did you answers change or were you right the first time
You should now we have a good idea about the location of Rio de Janeiro and why people are moving to the urban areas. We are now going to look at all of the problems and impacts of rapid urbanisation on Rio de Janeiro, specifically through the setting up of Favelas. Problems can be classified as:
Economic - these are linked to money and finance
Social - these are linked specifically to quality of life for people. Health, education ad enjoyment of life all fall under this category
Environmental - factors that are linked to pollution and poor environmental quality
As you work through this lesson, one of the best ways to collate this information is through a mind map, as some may fit into 2 categories and you can add those connecting lines between each.
Digital Workbook Task (Or if you are able to print off worksheets):
For MS Word or OneNote use the insert Smart Art option to choose a mind map design
OR
Go to https://www.mindmeister.com/ and sign in using Google sign in and your glow log in email with the prefix @as.glow.scot
Paper Jotter Task (and no access to a printer):
Create a mind map on a blank page of your jotter.
If you need help to make effective mind maps, check out this video here.
Rio de Janeiro is hemmed in by mountains and a Rainforest. During tropical storms, landslides are common. Make-shift houses in favelas offer little protection to people and houses are easily washed away by the heavy rain and mud. This can result in many deaths or large scale homelessness
Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro is the largest urban slum in Brazil, with about 250,000 people living here.
It is situated on a steep hillside 1km from the famous beaches of Rio.
It is a densely crowded shanty town with poor housing connected by a maze of narrow alleyways.
Overcrowding is a major problem in Rio's favelas. Population density approx 37,000 people per sq km.
New arrivals to the city build their own houses out of basic materials such as plastic sheeting, corrugated sheets and broken bricks, on land which they don’t own or rent
These areas are illegal and are not catered for by the Government, there are parts with no electricity, no rubbish collection, no sewage disposal, no schools or hospitals.
Many houses have no basic facilities such as running water or toilets, sewage runs in open sewers so diseases like cholera and dysentery are common.
Residents tap into electricity illegally, putting people at risk of electrocution and fires.
People are poor and cannot afford healthcare or medicines so illness go untreated. Diseases such as dysentery and diarrhoea are common and spread quickly
This leads to:
High Infant mortality rate
Low Life expectancy (average of 56 years)
Loss of any employment as people are too sick to work
There are no government services, so litter is just cast away into the street causing a higher rise in disease
At its worst there was only 2 schools in the favela of Rochina, that is 2 schools for a population of 250 000. Many children do not go to school leading to high illiteracy rates and high unemployment
Unemployment rates are high. Many people work in the informal sector for 'cash in hand', eg labourers or cleaners. These jobs do not pay taxes so do not contribute to the economy. These jobs are poorly paid and the work is irregular so a steady income is not guaranteed.
Due to the high levels of unemployment, Crime rate in the favela is also extremely high. Crime is run by gangs who are involved in organised crime and drugs. Some parts of Rocinha are so feared by police that they do not patrol on foot without guns
These are open to your interpretation for some so do not worry if you have put one in a different area as long as you can justify it.
Poor Health Care (can't work)
Black Market
High Unemployment
Cash in Hand Jobs
Housing Problems
Poor quality
no water/electricity/toilets
Stealing electricity
Overcrowding
Crime rates
Lack of Education
Lack of Health care
Landslides
No rubbish collections
Sewage disposal
Open sewers
Diseases like dysentery
Fire risk over stolen electricity