Passinho and Pacification

As I listened to a Youtube video of a Passinho battle, with it’s rough and heavy funke soundtrack, something perfectly appropriate happened. A middle-aged acquaintance remarked sarcastically from the other Continue reading →

The Old Gang in the “New” Neighborhood

In 1995 and 1996 I lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil while doing fieldwork and research for my Masters of Architecture thesis. One of my research sites was a small favela Continue reading →

Knowing the Favela

The current paradigm of ‘favela integration’ in Rio de Janeiro requires that the favelas themselves become an object of knowledge. That is, favelas cariocas must be constructed as knowable before Continue reading →

The First 3 Things I Learned: What Were Yours?

Last week I was involved in the penultimate critique for a 4th year design studio. I love participating in critiques for the shear volume of creative outcomes I get exposed Continue reading →

Pacification and 24 Hour Surveillance in Rocinha

The favela pacification process is well under way in Rio’s favelas–the process of reclaiming territory once run by drug gangs such as The Comando Vermelho, Terceiro Comando, and Amigos dos Continue reading →

Happy New Year from the Morro

Just about every American I know who’s been just about anywhere in Latin America baffles about how all the good real estate is the bad real estate. In the US, Continue reading →

“Underground Sociabilities”: new trends in urban social research?

Social psychologists at the London School of Economics partner with Brazilian researchers and challenge us to consider grassroots struggles for social inclusion rather than focus solely on marginality and exclusion. Researchers Continue reading →

Marketing “3rd World” Thrift

In 2009 I was talking with a friend of ours in Santa Elena de  Uairén, Venezuela just North of the Brazilian border. While we talked he described visiting an American Continue reading →

Economic Efficiency or Urban Quality of Life?

“Paving Streets for the Poor: Experimental Analysis of Infrastructure Effects” is an economics paper published last month by Marco Gonzalez-Navarro and Climent Quintana-Domeque. According to the abstract, “This study is Continue reading →

New Ecological Park for Rocinha: Public Intervention Worth Bragging About

When I first visited the construction site of the Parque Ecológico da Rocinha I was asked to not share photos since the government entities involved in its planning and construction Continue reading →

Supergraphics Then and Now

A few days ago Adriana invited comments on a video about a project called Philly Painting. According to its website, “Philly Painting is a neighborhood beautification project of unprecedented scale, Continue reading →

Revisiting Complexo do Alemão

The author revisits 13 conjoined favelas, known as Complexo do Alemão, after one year to see how ‘favela integration’ projects are progressing. Last week I had the opportunity to attend Continue reading →

Public Space-Public Investment

It’s summertime where I live. And I get an extra dose of seasonal exuberance from my living room window into East City Park where the family reunions picnic, church groups Continue reading →

In/Outside the Ferinha da Madrugada

What follows is a series of captioned images that attempts to succinctly describe the complicated relationship between the street vendors in the Bras neighborhood of Sao Paulo and the Ferinha Continue reading →

Another Periphery II

In my last entry Another Periphery I introduced Igaraí, a rural farming town in the state of São Paulo and the Guilherme Zaneti public housing complex located just outside the Continue reading →

Limpa Brasil: Municipal Waste Management Under the Sambinha Influence

Last month I posted on how catadores–people who earn their living by picking through solid waste to glean and resell recyclables–in Brazil set a positive example of how personal thrift Continue reading →

Questions of perspective: research as nation-building

Brazilian academics, once known for their fierce criticism of the state and Brazilian politics, now express tempered optimism. This post explores the dual role of social scientist and nation-builder.  This Continue reading →

The Thrift of Sambinha: Catadores and Waste Mitigation

“Or do without.” That’s the last line of the American axiom, left off of this World War II era poster promoting thriftiness in support of the war effort. It may Continue reading →

Questions of perspective

Lines are being drawn over Rio de Janeiro’s controversial Pacifying Police Units; but are opinions more ideologically informed than they are based on empirical evidence?  Last week I attended a conference about Continue reading →

Favela and Futebol VI: its not only about winning

June of 1982.  The Seleção directed by Tele Santana enchanted the world with their beautiful soccer. I clearly remember the first game against the USSR (it happened on my birthday, Continue reading →