Almost a third of Sao Paulo’s population lives in unsafe conditions. In a city with tropical climate and flash floods during the monsoon season, land areas with steep hills create special hazards for people due to mudslides and drainage problems. Many of the urban poor live in favelas, which are squatter settlements on private or public lands. Paraisopolis, for example, is a favela that is adjacent to a high income neighborhood, which provides easy access to low paid jobs. In addition, many of these favelas are located on protected watershed areas, which can affect the environmental safety of the entire city.
Instead of bulldozing the favelas as they have done in the past, the local government is more inclined to upgrade the settlements and allow people to legalize their structures, because it is easier, cheaper and more humane. In some areas with steep hills and poor drainage conditions, the people are asked to relocate. The vacated areas are then used for community uses such as parks, playgrounds and soccer fields.
In 2001, a statute was established to legalize illegal settlements. Once legalized, these citizens can access social services. However the progress has been very slow. Another local initiative has been to set up a Management Information System to track the favelas. Such tracking allows effective targeting of upgrading efforts and necessary environmental clean-ups.
In spite of these efforts, there are many challenges such as lack of employment opportunities, high cost of land, lack of credit history and gang related violence. There is also a need for educational programs, skills training and investments in job creation programs.
Paraisopolis Slum Upgrading: Quase um terço da população de
São Paulo vive em condições inseguras.
Em uma cidade com clima tropical e enchentes durante a estação das
monções, áreas de terra com morros íngremes criar riscos especiais devido a
deslizamentos de terra e problemas de drenagem.
Muitos dos pobres urbanos vivem em favelas, que são pacifistas
assentamentos em terras públicas ou privadas. Paraisopolis, por exemplo, é uma
favela que é adjacente a um bairro de alta renda, que fornece acesso fácil a
baixa paga postos de trabalho. Além
disso, muitas dessas favelas estão localizadas em áreas protegidas das bacias
hidrográficas, que podem afetar a segurança ambiental de toda a cidade. Em vez
de ser favelas como fizeram no passado, o governo local é mais inclinado para a
atualização dos assentamentos e permitir que pessoas legalizar suas estruturas,
porque é mais fácil, mais barato e mais humana.
Em algumas áreas com condições de drenagem pobre e morros íngremes, as
pessoas são convidadas para realocar. As
áreas vagas são, então, nós...
Reference: Serpone, Bueno and Veridiana Sedeh, Improving Slums: Stories from Sao Paulo, Citiscope.org, June 29, 2011
Photo Credit: Jatobb
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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