Kátia da Costa Bezerra
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780823276547
- eISBN:
- 9780823277223
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823276547.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
Postcards from Rio examines the complex interconnections between notions of citizenship and space in the works of photographers and video makers. It dialogues with a large body of scholarship on Rio ...
More
Postcards from Rio examines the complex interconnections between notions of citizenship and space in the works of photographers and video makers. It dialogues with a large body of scholarship on Rio de Janeiro and its favelas in particular. Only that, in this case, the point of departure is a cultural production that, coming from the peripheries, reconfigures dominant images of the favelas, their residents, and the city itself. These new mediators are mostly young people of the favelas, whose daily practices are used as the lens through which they contest stigmatized images of favelas. This cultural production lays the foundation for an aesthetic of representation involved in the appropriation and rewriting of the city as part of a process of political resistance and affirmation of difference. The book also discusses the centrality of favelas in the marketing and branding of the city as a strategy to attract external investors and tourists. The cultural productions analysed here discuss the impacts and priorities of the urban interventions on the sphere of the individual and the collectively. They also denounce the key role played by race in a logic characterized by models of exclusion and discrimination that structure the social and spatial organization of the city. The city then emerges as political space where a multiplicity of interests and urban policies are intertwined with demands for more inclusive forms of governance—certainly a form of citizenship that promotes inclusion, nondiscrimination, equal treatment, and the right to have a say over the city’s future.Less
Postcards from Rio examines the complex interconnections between notions of citizenship and space in the works of photographers and video makers. It dialogues with a large body of scholarship on Rio de Janeiro and its favelas in particular. Only that, in this case, the point of departure is a cultural production that, coming from the peripheries, reconfigures dominant images of the favelas, their residents, and the city itself. These new mediators are mostly young people of the favelas, whose daily practices are used as the lens through which they contest stigmatized images of favelas. This cultural production lays the foundation for an aesthetic of representation involved in the appropriation and rewriting of the city as part of a process of political resistance and affirmation of difference. The book also discusses the centrality of favelas in the marketing and branding of the city as a strategy to attract external investors and tourists. The cultural productions analysed here discuss the impacts and priorities of the urban interventions on the sphere of the individual and the collectively. They also denounce the key role played by race in a logic characterized by models of exclusion and discrimination that structure the social and spatial organization of the city. The city then emerges as political space where a multiplicity of interests and urban policies are intertwined with demands for more inclusive forms of governance—certainly a form of citizenship that promotes inclusion, nondiscrimination, equal treatment, and the right to have a say over the city’s future.
Janice E. Perlman
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199584758
- eISBN:
- 9780191594533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199584758.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, International
The focus of this chapter is the effect of contemporary globalization on poverty and inequality in cities of the ‘global south’. Specifically it addresses the impact of globalization on marginalized ...
More
The focus of this chapter is the effect of contemporary globalization on poverty and inequality in cities of the ‘global south’. Specifically it addresses the impact of globalization on marginalized communities—slums, squatter settlements, and shantytowns—collectively called ‘informal settlements’. This is a timely issue given that over the next 25 years virtually all of the population growth worldwide will be in the cities of developing countries largely concentrated in such settlements. The chapter takes a critical look at current assumptions about globalization, urban poverty, and inequality, distinguishing between different constructs and aspects of globalization and separating causality from coterminality. It questions how the informal sector would fare in the face of advanced capitalism and technological transformations, absent the global component. Using Brazil as an example, the chapter draws comparisons between the lives of the poor during the isolationist period of ‘import substitution’ and the military dictatorship and their current lives in the context of pervasive globalization of ideas, icons, and identities. The findings are based on a longitudinal panel study conducted in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro between 1968 and 2005, examining the changes over time, space, and generations. The presumed effects of globalization on the lives of the urban poor, on the levels of inequality between them, and the rest of the city and on public policy are thrown into question. The answers are sought in the people's perceptions of the impact of globalization on their lives, in the historic transformations of the country and city, and in the life‐history, survey data, and open‐ended interviews collected over this 35‐year period.Less
The focus of this chapter is the effect of contemporary globalization on poverty and inequality in cities of the ‘global south’. Specifically it addresses the impact of globalization on marginalized communities—slums, squatter settlements, and shantytowns—collectively called ‘informal settlements’. This is a timely issue given that over the next 25 years virtually all of the population growth worldwide will be in the cities of developing countries largely concentrated in such settlements. The chapter takes a critical look at current assumptions about globalization, urban poverty, and inequality, distinguishing between different constructs and aspects of globalization and separating causality from coterminality. It questions how the informal sector would fare in the face of advanced capitalism and technological transformations, absent the global component. Using Brazil as an example, the chapter draws comparisons between the lives of the poor during the isolationist period of ‘import substitution’ and the military dictatorship and their current lives in the context of pervasive globalization of ideas, icons, and identities. The findings are based on a longitudinal panel study conducted in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro between 1968 and 2005, examining the changes over time, space, and generations. The presumed effects of globalization on the lives of the urban poor, on the levels of inequality between them, and the rest of the city and on public policy are thrown into question. The answers are sought in the people's perceptions of the impact of globalization on their lives, in the historic transformations of the country and city, and in the life‐history, survey data, and open‐ended interviews collected over this 35‐year period.
Vicente del Rio and William Siembieda (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813032818
- eISBN:
- 9780813039275
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813032818.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
For decades, a succession of military regimes and democratic governments in Brazil sought to shape the future of their society through the manipulation of urban spaces. Planned cities were built that ...
More
For decades, a succession of military regimes and democratic governments in Brazil sought to shape the future of their society through the manipulation of urban spaces. Planned cities were built that reflected the ideals of high modernism, and urban designers and planners created clean-cut minimalist spaces that reflected the hope for an idyllic future in a still-developing nation. But these cities were criticized as “utopian dreams” in a country plagued with the urban realities of rampant sprawl and the infamous slums known as favelas. In this international collection, architects, urban planners, and scholars assess the legacy of Brazilian urbanism to date. Chapters evaluate the country's experiments with modernism and examine how Brazilian cities are regenerating themselves within a democratic political framework that meets market and social demands, and respects place, culture, and history.Less
For decades, a succession of military regimes and democratic governments in Brazil sought to shape the future of their society through the manipulation of urban spaces. Planned cities were built that reflected the ideals of high modernism, and urban designers and planners created clean-cut minimalist spaces that reflected the hope for an idyllic future in a still-developing nation. But these cities were criticized as “utopian dreams” in a country plagued with the urban realities of rampant sprawl and the infamous slums known as favelas. In this international collection, architects, urban planners, and scholars assess the legacy of Brazilian urbanism to date. Chapters evaluate the country's experiments with modernism and examine how Brazilian cities are regenerating themselves within a democratic political framework that meets market and social demands, and respects place, culture, and history.
Corrine Davis-Rodriguez
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199260744
- eISBN:
- 9780191698675
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199260744.003.0013
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
Due to industrialization and employment opportunities, Brazil's urban population experienced a significant increase that started during the 1950s. However, because legal and affordable housing ...
More
Due to industrialization and employment opportunities, Brazil's urban population experienced a significant increase that started during the 1950s. However, because legal and affordable housing options were evidently limited, migrants had to resort to making use of unused private and public land which are referred to as favelas. Although such favelas accommodate a huge part of the population and because of how these communities have been established illegally, favelas are not without problems, such as poor living conditions, high population density, irregular construction, and limited access to various services such as sanitation, running water, and electricity, among others. Recently, legislation and policies have veered away from eradicating favelas and moved towards recognizing property rights and integration through such measures as the Favela-Bairro programme. This chapter examines how residents of one of Rio de Janeiro's largest favela have been able to use community, city, and legal resources in dealing with various issues.Less
Due to industrialization and employment opportunities, Brazil's urban population experienced a significant increase that started during the 1950s. However, because legal and affordable housing options were evidently limited, migrants had to resort to making use of unused private and public land which are referred to as favelas. Although such favelas accommodate a huge part of the population and because of how these communities have been established illegally, favelas are not without problems, such as poor living conditions, high population density, irregular construction, and limited access to various services such as sanitation, running water, and electricity, among others. Recently, legislation and policies have veered away from eradicating favelas and moved towards recognizing property rights and integration through such measures as the Favela-Bairro programme. This chapter examines how residents of one of Rio de Janeiro's largest favela have been able to use community, city, and legal resources in dealing with various issues.
Laura Harris
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780823279784
- eISBN:
- 9780823281480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823279784.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
In this chapter I examine James’s and Oiticica’s “discovery” of what I conceive of to be the active remains of the motley crew in the aesthetic sociality of blackness. I explore the claim they each ...
More
In this chapter I examine James’s and Oiticica’s “discovery” of what I conceive of to be the active remains of the motley crew in the aesthetic sociality of blackness. I explore the claim they each make on it, on its modes of composition, arrangement and assembly, and the claim it makes on them, by way of some of their early experiments—James’s Minty Alley, the novel he wrote in Trinidad as an “exercise,” and Oiticica’s Parangolé, the banners, tents and capes whose activation would constitute what he would come to describe, through a phrase he adopts from Brazilian art critic Mário Pedrosa, as an “experimental exercise of freedom.” Both claim the aesthetic sociality of blackness by “appropriating” elements of the creative practices they encountered, the spectacular performance of cricket and samba and the more quotidian performances connected to them, the forms of assembly that James observed in conversations in the barrack-yards and that Oiticica observed in the architecture of the favelas. I look at the ways their claims take shape in these early works and the way the counterclaim of that sociality opens up those shapes, using it as a vehicle for its own expression, one that can’t quite be contained by the works themselves or the gesture of appropriation.Less
In this chapter I examine James’s and Oiticica’s “discovery” of what I conceive of to be the active remains of the motley crew in the aesthetic sociality of blackness. I explore the claim they each make on it, on its modes of composition, arrangement and assembly, and the claim it makes on them, by way of some of their early experiments—James’s Minty Alley, the novel he wrote in Trinidad as an “exercise,” and Oiticica’s Parangolé, the banners, tents and capes whose activation would constitute what he would come to describe, through a phrase he adopts from Brazilian art critic Mário Pedrosa, as an “experimental exercise of freedom.” Both claim the aesthetic sociality of blackness by “appropriating” elements of the creative practices they encountered, the spectacular performance of cricket and samba and the more quotidian performances connected to them, the forms of assembly that James observed in conversations in the barrack-yards and that Oiticica observed in the architecture of the favelas. I look at the ways their claims take shape in these early works and the way the counterclaim of that sociality opens up those shapes, using it as a vehicle for its own expression, one that can’t quite be contained by the works themselves or the gesture of appropriation.
Kátia da Costa Bezerra
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780823276547
- eISBN:
- 9780823277223
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823276547.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
The introduction historicizes the evolution of favelas in the imaginary of the city. It illustrates how favelas, constructed as a site of Otherness and/or authenticity, have become more recently a ...
More
The introduction historicizes the evolution of favelas in the imaginary of the city. It illustrates how favelas, constructed as a site of Otherness and/or authenticity, have become more recently a consumable good. With the pacification process, favelas have become a seductive component of the city, attracting many interests, and a clear process of urban development is under way. The chapter describes how successive urban remodeling plans have resulted in the eviction of many residents—mostly low-income, black segments of the population. It defines favela-based cultural productions as counter-narratives that are implicated in the articulation of alternative identities and geographies. Finally, it conveys the methods used in the book and the general organization of the book.Less
The introduction historicizes the evolution of favelas in the imaginary of the city. It illustrates how favelas, constructed as a site of Otherness and/or authenticity, have become more recently a consumable good. With the pacification process, favelas have become a seductive component of the city, attracting many interests, and a clear process of urban development is under way. The chapter describes how successive urban remodeling plans have resulted in the eviction of many residents—mostly low-income, black segments of the population. It defines favela-based cultural productions as counter-narratives that are implicated in the articulation of alternative identities and geographies. Finally, it conveys the methods used in the book and the general organization of the book.
Mariana Cavalcanti
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813060675
- eISBN:
- 9780813050942
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813060675.003.0006
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
Rio de Janeiro has undertaken massive urban transformations in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The chapter examines the coupling of favela urbanization programs—such as ...
More
Rio de Janeiro has undertaken massive urban transformations in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The chapter examines the coupling of favela urbanization programs—such as the PAC favelas and the Morar Carioca program—with the public security policy known as the Pacification Police Units (UPPs). It is particularly concerned with how this juxtaposition produces new spaces, territorialities, and structures of legitimization for community leaders.Less
Rio de Janeiro has undertaken massive urban transformations in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The chapter examines the coupling of favela urbanization programs—such as the PAC favelas and the Morar Carioca program—with the public security policy known as the Pacification Police Units (UPPs). It is particularly concerned with how this juxtaposition produces new spaces, territorialities, and structures of legitimization for community leaders.
Bruno Carvalho
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781846319754
- eISBN:
- 9781781381007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781846319754.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
The chapter covers the first two decades of the twentieth century, when a drastic Paris-inspired urban reform in the Old City helped to create the idea (and to an extent the reality) of ‘two Rios de ...
More
The chapter covers the first two decades of the twentieth century, when a drastic Paris-inspired urban reform in the Old City helped to create the idea (and to an extent the reality) of ‘two Rios de Janeiro’: one modern and beautiful, the other uncivilized and inhabited by the undesired. The chapter focuses not only on the ‘other’ city, but on mediating figures that frequented its different spaces, like the composer Chiquinha Gonzaga, and two mulatos and prominent writers whose works assume critical importance: João do Rio, a mixture of flâneur and investigative journalist, and the ‘damned’ novelist Lima Barreto, an active critic of the republic and its urban reforms. Less-well-known texts, like the travel accounts of João Pinheiro Chagas (a future prime minister of Portugal), also generate broader insights about urban development, and into the Cidade Nova’s role as a type of contact zone between expanding suburbs, the commercial and political centre, the port, and nascent favelas, or shanties built on hillsides.Less
The chapter covers the first two decades of the twentieth century, when a drastic Paris-inspired urban reform in the Old City helped to create the idea (and to an extent the reality) of ‘two Rios de Janeiro’: one modern and beautiful, the other uncivilized and inhabited by the undesired. The chapter focuses not only on the ‘other’ city, but on mediating figures that frequented its different spaces, like the composer Chiquinha Gonzaga, and two mulatos and prominent writers whose works assume critical importance: João do Rio, a mixture of flâneur and investigative journalist, and the ‘damned’ novelist Lima Barreto, an active critic of the republic and its urban reforms. Less-well-known texts, like the travel accounts of João Pinheiro Chagas (a future prime minister of Portugal), also generate broader insights about urban development, and into the Cidade Nova’s role as a type of contact zone between expanding suburbs, the commercial and political centre, the port, and nascent favelas, or shanties built on hillsides.
