08/06/2009 / BRAZIL
The
government themselves decided to do this, based on statistics concerning
environmental problems in these areas - deforestation, tipping, landslides, etc
- conditions which favela residents were
suing the government over."
Building these walls is a
prejudiced act against the integration of these shantytowns: it reinforces the
idea that the people living in these areas are a threat to the city and that
there's a risk of them spreading."
Rio shantytowns walled off
©Lucnas Martins / Viva Favela
Rio de Janeiro authorities have begun building concrete walls around the city's shantytowns. Officially they're being erected to prevent environmental damage to the surrounding areas. But the residents of these favelas see it as a way of creating distance between themselves and the not-too-faraway, well-off neighbours.
Twelve million euros are being invested in the walls, christened "eco-frontiers" by the authorities. Not even drug traffickers will be able to topple the three-metre high, reinforced concrete fences. In total, eight shantytowns will be walled off.
Not everyone is convinced of the official motives behind the "eco-frontiers". According to a survey published by newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo on 13 April, 47% of Rio natives support the project, while 44% condemn it.
"We're fighting environmental problems"
Icaro Moreno Junior is president of the company building the walls, Emop. He's supervising the construction of the "eco-frontiers".
The
government themselves decided to do this, based on statistics concerning
environmental problems in these areas - deforestation, tipping, landslides, etc
- conditions which favela residents were
suing the government over."
"A prejudiced act against the integration of these shantytowns"
Marcelo Burgos Bauman is an academic specialised in urban planning. He's also a member of the Research Centre for Rights and Society.
Building these walls is a
prejudiced act against the integration of these shantytowns: it reinforces the
idea that the people living in these areas are a threat to the city and that
there's a risk of them spreading."
The first wall in the Santa Marta shantytown
Photos: Lucnas Martins / Viva Favela
The Santa Marta favela.
Construction of the first wall began two months ago in the Santa Marta favela in the Botafogo district. The authorities started in that area because it was there that they managed to oust drug traffickers. Today, Santa Marta is considered a model shantytown.
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Comments
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Submitted by Unregistered user (not verified) on Mon, 08/06/2009 - 17:06.Vocês gostam de falar mau do Brasil heim!
Unregistered user
Brazil shanty towns.
Submitted by Unregistered userjoseph walker (not verified) on Mon, 08/06/2009 - 15:38.well it is the garbage in goverments ,they trying to hide thier indifference to poverty, education,and the inequalities in society.nothing unusal with the garbage in the human race.
Unregistered user