WHAT IS A FAVELA?
A favela is a type of slum in Brazil that has experienced historical governmental neglect. The first favela, now known as Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro. Even before the first favela came into being, poor citizens were pushed away from the city and forced to live in the far suburbs. Unable to find places to live, many people found themselves in favelas. Houses in the favelas looks like it was stacked into each other. In the favelas, drug trafficking i still happening. This is because government doesn’t help the people in the favelas area.
THE BUILD ENVIRONMENT
Many of the inhabitants of the favelas are peoples who learned the construction practices in the slums by buildings houses and infrastructures to their families and neighbours. Often, they engage in the constructions of the favela, especially during the weekend and their free time, in order to generate more income to their families. This article focuses on the importance of masons within informal settlements. They are agents of transformation and improvement in their neighbourhoods, and they are important actors in case of a contingency situation.
APPLICATION IN CITY LIFE
People who lives in the city. In Brazil, a country notorious for its spatially segregated, unequal cities, a 2001 federal law recognizes the “right to the city” and mandates participation in planning processes, aiming to achieve social justice. Planning theory has dealt extensively with the “right to the city”, but critical examination of the implementation of this law – the Statute of the City – is lacking. Drawing on the ideals of Lefebvre and the global “right to the city” movement, I contribute to the theoretical debate on the right to the city, connecting this discussion to an analysis of the practice of applying this ideal in Brazil. I examine the challenges of implementing this innovative policy in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro State), showing that a more nuanced approach is needed to understand Brazil's unique right to the city experience.
