Favelas of Complexo do Alemão big tourist attraction, supposedly, thanks to gondola transport system…

Favela tourism is here to stay; and despite widespread ethical concerns, it’s booming business. Accordingto recent numbers collected by SuperVia, 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 Continue reading →

New research on slum tourism, a comparative approach: interview with Alessandro Angelini

Favela tourism is all the rage. Tours operating in impoverished self-built settlements have multiplied in dozens of countries, and the Continue reading →

On The Architecture of Recent Urban Interventions [In Informal Settlements]

Named by the Urban Land Institute as the Most Innovative city of 2013 and hosting the UN Habitat’s World Urban Continue reading →

The Free Fare Movement Comes to Rio: protest, public transport and the right to the city

I had intended this post to tell the story of the first time residents from the favela Rocinha “descended from Continue reading →

Resistance to Rio’s Celebrated Gondolas, Fetishizing the Teleferico

  Why would local residents rally against major investments in transport infrastructure meant to increase mobility within the favela when Continue reading →

PAC + Future Plans

The Plan for Growth Acceleration (PAC) was launched by Lula in 2007. The PAC contemplates an investment of around US$260 Continue reading →

Quick Remarks on Vidigal Favela

Part of the Favela-Bairro, Vidigal’s intervention was designed by Argentinian architect Jorge Mario Jauregui. Jauregui is one of the most Continue reading →

A Cidade Maravilhosa: Rio

For the last three weeks I was in Rio de Janeiro, former capital of Brazil and a land where democracy Continue reading →