Urbanization in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cathryn Hannay

A hard story to find on Google News: The city of Rio de Janeiro -in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil- has started to build walls around some of their slums. This story actually has quite a history behind it.

Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil, is home to over 7 million people. The population has increased by approximately 1.8 million people over the last 9 years, with .6 million of the growth occurring over the past 2 to 3 years. The state of Rio de Janeiro is 96.9% urban.

The city of Rio de Janeiro, often just called Rio, is known for its extreme economic divide and its infamous violence. The rich often live near the wealthy in slum-shantytowns called the favelas.


In 2007, the Brazilian government allocated approximately $1.7 billion in funds to counter the effect of drug lords and to provide running water and sewage treatment to the favelas. The following year, the protection against drug lords was questioned as 11 soldiers were jailed for allegedly offering 3 men up to be killed by gang members in another shantytown – 3 soldiers admitted guilt.

Approximately one year later, two years after the previous proposal for repairing the slums, a plan was devised to destroy 600 homes to build a wall separating 40 slums from the Rainforest in order to prevent expansion and destruction of the ecosystem. 2 months later this idea was scaled down due to protests and objections of the slum residents. Instead, the wall would be a little over 7 miles long, and 9 feet high, intersecting 11 slums and 1 wealthy village. Other options were also discussed but parts of the wall had already been erected.

Now, fast forwarding to September 4, 2009… The Brazilian government is trying to encourage the 2016 Olympic Games to be held in Rio. What is thought to be drug related violence is still very prominent in Rio. An American Olympic Rower witnessed violence first hand in Rio when he was mugged by two men on scooters. He says of the walls in Rio: “During the Pan American Games, the city was supposedly putting its best foot forward but ended up employing half-measures, like walling off neighborhoods and suggesting traveling only in `designated zones.'” Even from an outside traveler, the walls look a little suspicious.


1 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/olympics_blog/2009/09/crime-more-than-public-safety-challenges-for-rio-2016-bid.html
2 http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN1864748
3 http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Brazil-Concrete-Walls-Built-Around-Rio-De-Janeiros-Slums-To-Protect-Rainforest/Article/200904115254557?lpos=World_News_Article_Related_Content_Region_8&lid=ARTICLE_15254557_Brazil%3A_Concrete_Walls_Built_Around_Rio_De_Janeiros_Slums_To_Protect_Rainforest
4 http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN17366602
5 http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN02367813