Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Ciudades Sostenibles

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Housing
    • Sustainable development
    • Urban heritage
    • Smart cities
    • Metropolitan governance
    • Urban economics
    • Urban society
    • Cities LAB
    • Cities Network
  • Spanish
Favelas Brazil

Favela-Bairro Upgrading Program: Assessing results 10 years later

July 17, 2020 por Nora Libertun - Rene Osorio Leave a Comment

Este artículo está también disponible en / This post is also available in: Spanish


More than a billion people live in informal neighborhoods around the world, also known as slums, barriadas or villas, or favelas in Brazil. These neighborhoods usually lack access to clean water and sanitation systems, and residents live in inadequate and overcrowded housing. In 1995, Favela Bairro (FB) program in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, aimed to connect these informal neighborhoods to the city, by providing and improving services and upgrading infrastructure. FB’s novel approach received wide international acclaim. In 2000 it won Harvard’s Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design recognizing it as a “project that contributes significantly to the quality of urban life.”[1]

What are the results of the program ten years later?

Bairro 10 years later

Did the infrastructure improve the lives of the Favela residents in the long term? A newly released report: Bairro: 10 years later examined the state of the infrastructure of 88 favelas of the Favela-Bairro phase II (FB2) program between 2000 and 2008, and studied the sustainability feasibility of these interventions.

The report is timely due to the renewed concern of sanitary conditions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemics in informal neighborhoods. A recent study from India found that households living in informal neighborhoods would suffer 44 percent higher chance of transmission of infectious diseases such as the flu ,oppose to those living in other areas. Overcrowding conditions increase infection rates, while malnutrition and the lack of sanitary conditions make it more likely to spread infectious disease. The current state of the program is especially important amid the COVID-19 pandemic and could provide guideline for future interventions.

The research presented in the report used two complementary methodologies carried out in parallel:

  1. A qualitative study based on focus groups to capture the perception of direct beneficiaries on the upgrades. The main conclusion was that although immediately after the interventions took place, there was a general improvement in resident’s lives (Atuesta and Soares, 2016), over time the infrastructure degraded considerably and public services suffered from, most reverting to the original conditions —similar to those favelas that were not upgraded (control group). Some interviewees complained about sewage overflows, garbage accumulation, electricity fails, and broken public lamps on the streets, among other issues. Half of the residents interviewed expressed positive opinions regarding public transportation infrastructure, however credited this particular result to their own actions —residents repaired some of the potholes by filling them with sand to allow smooth circulation of cars and motorcycles, and reported that the electrical wiring was fixed by them whenever possible.
  2. A standardized analysis of the state of maintenance of the infrastructure in the 88 favelas upgraded by FB II. This formal inspection consisted of a technical examination of the state of the infrastructure. A team of technical experts was sent to visually check and grade the state of maintenance. The results showed that ten years after project completion the group of favelas intervened in the FB program scored the same as the control group. In fact, the treated group had significantly lower scores in three types of infrastructure: the sewerage system, the garbage collection and electricity, vesus the control one. (see Table below)Table Index by Type of Indicator and Treatment Status

    Table Index by Type of Indicator and Treatment Status
    Table Index by Type of Indicator and Treatment Status. Source: Authors’ elaboration.
    Notes: Score: 0 = non-operational; 6 = excellent condition. Level of statistical significance: ***p-value = 0.01, **p‑value = 0.05, *p-value = 0.10. Although we refer to 88 favelas upgraded in FB II, some of these 88 are in complexes or groups linked like a network, meaning that some favelas are a complex of several favelas. Counting each favela individually, there are a total of 160 favelas reported in this table.

    It was determined that multiple factors could account for the infrastructure deterioration, not necessarily tied to the FB II program; rapid population growth for example: Between 2000 and 2010 the population in Rio’s favelas grew nearly 27 percent, while in the rest of the city it has grown just 3.4 percent.[2]

    Favela Bairro II. (2000–2008) Locations
    Favela Bairro II. (2000–2008) Locations. Source: Authors’ elaboration.

    Although insufficient maintenance and follow up could be the cause of the negative results, vandalism and steep topography should also be considered: Engineers who work in these locations observed gangs frequently braking public lighting -making it easier for them to hide authorities. It was noted that drug related gangs made potholes (see Images) or build barriers in the streets or barricades that hinder the entrance of police cars and rival gangs. Also, these groups destroy internal mobility structures, such as public stairs and ramps, for more effective hideouts.

    Intentional Roadblocks in Favela Morro da Quitanda in Rio de Janeiro
    Image. Intentional Roadblocks in Favela Morro da Quitanda in Rio de Janeiro, 2018. Source: Overview Pesquisa.

Lessons to be learned

Design for endurance can be accomplished with the choice of better materials and layouts that require minimum maintenance and recurrent expenditure should be budgeted for repairs on a regular basis; extra resources should be allocated to hilly and densely populated areas. For better outcomes, it is key to involve and educate residents on the preservation of the interventions, and recognizing that these type of projects are likely to attract more people, increasing demand on the built infrastructure. It is important to understand that built interventions might not be sustainable in neighborhoods that face chronic local violence or where there is a notable absence of authorities and government, making long term durability possible, only by constant action from all stakeholders.

Read the blog in portuguese.


Dr. Janice Perlman
Dr. Janice Perlman

Guest Author: Janice Perlman Dr. Perlman is a research scholar, author, public speaker and urban policy consultant. Her most recent book, Favela: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro (OUP, 2010), traces the life histories of hundreds of urban migrants over four generations. It is a follow-up to her seminal book, The Myth of Marginality (UC Press, 1976). She is currently finishing research on Mega- Events, Public Policies and the Future of Favelas Cariocas. The book titled “The Importance of Being Gente” will complete the Favela Trilogy. Her Awards include Guggenheim Award; C. Wright Mills Award; Chester Rapkin Award; two Fulbrights and the Publishers PROSE Award for “Out­standing Contribution to the field of Social Science. She is President of The Mega-Cities Project, a global non-profit designed to “shorten the lag time between ideas and implementation in urban problem solving”. Now in its 30th year, it is supporting/awarding young urban leaders as in its new initiative, MC2. She was a tenured Professor of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley and has taught at Columbia, NYU, Trinity College and UFRJ. She directed Strategic Planning at The NYC Partnership; Science, Technology and Public Policy at the NY Academy of Sciences; and the Neighborhoods Task Force of the National Urban Policy.


[1] For more information about this prize, see https://urbandesignprize.gsd.harvard.edu/.

[2] Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics IBGE.


Filed Under: Emerging cities, Housing, Metropolitan governance, Sustainable development, Uncategorized, Urban economics Tagged With: Brasil, Covid-19, Favela Bairro, housing, Informal neighborhoods, infrastructure, Public Services, Services

Nora Libertun

Nora Libertun de Duren is a leading expert on sustainability, social inclusion, and affordable housing in urban areas. She has experience working in multilateral development banks, local government, and academia. She has managed a portfolio of $2,000 million in sovereign loans for affordable housing and urban development projects in Latin America, $1,000 million in federal and municipal funds for urban parks in New York City, and $2.8 million in research grants for climate change, gender, and diversity. She has published 20 peer-reviewed papers and more than 30 chapters and monographs and is a member of various technical committees. Currently, Nora leads the Inter-American Development Bank research and knowledge agenda on cities, and mainstreams gender and diversity issues in urban projects. Nora is also a lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at Harvard University. Previously, she was the Director of Planning and Natural Resources for New York City and has taught urban planning and international development at various universities, including Columbia University and the University of Buenos Aires. She is a member of various technical boards, including the Steering Committee of the Harvard Mexican Cities Initiative, and the World Resources Institute Ross Center Prize for Cities. Her publications focus on social inclusion in cities, sustainable development, and affordable housing. Her papers have been published in a range of academic journals, counting the Journal of Planning Education and Research, Housing Policy Debate, International Journal of Urban & Regional Research, Cities, Urban Studies, World Development Perspectives, and City & Community, among others. Nora holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Regional Planning from MIT with honors, a Master's in Urban Design from Harvard University, and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Buenos Aires.

Rene Osorio

René Osorio tiene un doctorado en economía de Boston University, una maestría en macroeconomía aplicada de la Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile y un título de ingeniero civil de la Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería en Nicaragua. Actualmente, se desempeña como consultor especializado en temas fiscales en la División de Gestión Fiscal y Municipal del BID, donde ha participado en una variedad de proyectos relacionados a identidad legal, migración y seguridad ciudadana, género y tributación y calidad de las políticas fiscales en América Latina y el Caribe.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Description

Este es el blog de la División de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano (HUD) del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Súmate a la conversación sobre cómo mejorar la sostenibilidad y calidad de vida en ciudades de América Latina y el Caribe.

Search

Recent Posts

  • Beyond the Urban/Rural Territorial Categories
  • Improving neighborhoods in Paraguay through social engagement strategies
  • Ten blog posts to celebrate ten years of Ciudades Sostenibles
  • Six innovative alternatives to reduce the housing deficit in Latin America
  • Is there inequality in pollution exposure between rich and poor neighborhoods?

¡Síguenos en nuestras redes!

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

Blog posts written by Bank employees:

Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


For blogs written by external parties:

For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



Privacy Policy

Derechos de autor © 2023 · Magazine Pro en Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

Aviso Legal

Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

facebook
twitter
youtube
This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
To learn more about cookies, click here
X
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT