The Image Of The City: Rio de Janeiro

The Image of The City: Rio de Janeiro

Bernard Asagai 2012 Green MBA Candidate

Urban Planning Fundamentals: SUS 561 Professor Paul Schultz Marylhurst University February 20th, 2011

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The Image of The City: Rio de Janeiro Semester Choice City: Rio de Janeiro Population:

Approximately 6.5 million

Introduction: BRIC economies are a hott topic today, and hardly any other garnishes more attention than that of Brazil. Rio de Janeiro while not being as large or as strong economically as Sao Paulo, is currently experiencing a renaissance due to numerous factors such as its winning bid of the Pan-American games which took place in 2007, and the cities winning bids for the 2014 World Cup, as well as the 2016 Olympic Games.

Other outside factors such as the country’s ability to avoid the most recent economic global crisis has fueled the interest of many investors looking for new markets to invest within, to seriously review the countries economic possibilities.

The country’s economic possibilities are vast, ranging from its global leadership within the extraction and production of ethanol for flex vehicles, natural gas for vehicles (GNV), food production of soy products and farm animals such as cows for beef production, as well as within the area of products and services which can be used by the countries new and growing upwardly mobile middle class. The country is also a global leader in the area of petroleum exploration, and has just recently announced what could be the largest oilfield ever discovered in the last 20 years. Brazil is booming, and no other Brazilian city makes that more prevalent than Rio de Janeiro.

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This backdrop of issues, as well as many others, is having a huge effect within the areas of speculation, credit markets and the extension of personal credit, the strength of the country’s currency, the REAL, as well as on the city of Rio de Janeiro’ ability to be to be a top choice for travelers looking for destinations of value. Though the country, and the city are hosting an enormous amount of investment dollars and global attention, such attention and investment has a dark side! The cost of ordinary items such as bread, flour, sugar, and other basic necessities such as transportation, fuel prices, and land have seen increases of up to 300% over the previous 10 years.

The wave of investments that can be witnessed throughout various regions of the country, as well as within Rio de Janeiro, while fueling a wave of employment and job creation, have also sustained high levels of inflationary pressures. Such pressures may not be affecting the lives or buying power of those who have attained new jobs, but those who have not been fortunate enough to attain employment and whose lives have not advanced on the ladder of economic mobility, are forced to rely on government subsidy programs, or are forced to find informal means of employment as a way to pay the bills. In fact, the informal economy in Rio de Janeiro is enormous and represents one of the one of the only avenues that a huge number of citizens can engage in the economy. The informal economy, while providing many with moneymaking options so that they can support their families, does not provide job security, or benefits such as Social Security. When individuals cannot find labor opportunities within the formal economy, nor that of the informal economy, another category normally arises, and that category lies within the area of crime.

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This can be witnessed by the drug cartels that control many of the cities shantytowns (favelas). Many individuals that could not locate formal, or informal opportunities find various means of employment within this third category. Rio de Janeiro has a huge problem with illegal drugs and most of that is fueled out of the cities favelas. Sadly, historically the city has treated those that live within favelas as outcast. This has stigmatized many and has been a barrier to achieving new and more profitable labor prospects. For instance, some employers should they know that a jobseeker lives with in a favela, they have been known to disregard their application, or simply cross-out their name as a serious candidate for a job opportunity.

What is interesting about this dynamic, is that within another country, the United States, this has been witnessed on various occasions when residents of cities looked toward suburbs for employment during the expansion of suburbs I the United States. Just that city-dwellers in many U.S. cites were treated as outcasts, so have residents of Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. Such policies assist/ed in sustaining neighborhood instability and creates out-migration, and kills-off social-capital. However, the new wave of investment that Rio de Janeiro is currently experiencing is forcing a change to that silent policy. The level of investment that is currently taking place is creating a need for employment from everyone!

Skilled labor is a needed commodity, and various sectors looking to fulfill this need are left only with the option of contracting foreigners that hold the skillset, from other

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countries. Petrobras, the state owned oil company contracts many welders for its new oil projects from the United States. This current employment need is forcing many out of poverty and is also creating many educational opportunities that did not exist before.

Other issues that the city of Rio de Janeiro is currently experiencing come from internal conflicts due to the rapid rise in the levels of affluence.

Issues dealing with automobile ownership, over-consumption of products, health issues from eating fatty foods, as well as the subjects of waste disposal, overproduction of goods, and the city’s environmental impact. Though the rapid rise of investment is creating tremendous new opportunities, they are also creating realities for many that are becoming very unbearable. The current inflationary pressures have made it very difficult for many to afford prescription drugs, pay for private education, or provide the basic necessities that are needed for life. For many living below the economic mean, this means a life of continued poverty. Though there are many opportunities that are currently taking place within the city, and the country as a whole, there are still a great many that are being left behind!

My intention is to explore this and provide solutions that may possibly mitigate the continuance of such actions. I would also like to explore the possible use of policies such as inclusionary zoning as a way to bring more balance within the city of Rio de Janeiro, which could possibly alter the current disparity gap. The space between those that have, and those that don’t have anything is enormous. What is interesting about this as well, is the close proximity that that the poor, and that the wealthy live within relation to each

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other. Other issues that I would like to explore are the “feel” of the city, its safety and comfort ability, as well as the ways in which it interacts with various energies within the areas of mass transportation and personal transport as well. Though the city has various levels of conflict, it speaks volumes that 100% of the taxis used within the city, run on natural gas. Though there are many social issues within the city, its carbon footprint is one of the lowest in the world. In fact, once you exclude deforestation within the country’s rain forest, the country too, as one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world as well.

My proposal is to explore these issues regarding the city using various content resources, as well as the content included in Reference area of this document.

Running head: PROPOSAL: ANALYSIS OF RIO DE JANIERO'S SYSTEMS INTERACTIONS

Preliminary Reference List Cashman, R. (2002). Impact of the Games on Olympic host cities [Impact of Olympic Games].

Retrieved 2002, from Centre d’Estudis Olímpics (UAB) website: http://ceo.uab.cat/lec/pdf/cashman.pdf

Domit, M. (2010, July 7). Brazil: where credit grows on trees [Consumers can pay for purchases in 17 Installments, on any credit card and without interest rates]. Retrieved May 7, 2010, from GlobalPost website: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/brazil/100629/interest-rates-credit

Lynch, K. (1960). The Image of The City. The MIT Press .

Magalhães, H. N. X. F. (n.d.). The Case of Rio de Janeiro [Rio Janeiro Background Info]. Retrieved from UCL website: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu-projects/Global_Report/pdfs/Rio_bw.pdf

Perlman, J. 1976: The Myth of Marginality: Urban Politics and Poverty in Rio de Janeiro. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Perlman, J. E. (n.d.). The Chronic Poor in Rio de Janeiro: What has changed in 30 Years? [State of Rio Favelas]. Retrieved from The Myth of Marginality: Urban Poverty and Politics in Rio De Janeiro

Reel, M. (2006, August 20). Washington Post Foreign Service. In Brazil's Road to Energy Independence [Alternative-Fuel Strategy, Rooted in Ethanol From Sugar Cane, Seen as Model]. Retrieved August 20, 2006, from Washington Post Newspaper website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/19/AR2006081900842.html

Land Use Map: Rio de Janeiro [Land Use & Distance from CBD]. (2007, March 21). Retrieved from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_acvKaoKyaXA/RgFK0qSVRxI/AAAAAAAAALc/3_HqX7wJYHg/s1600h/BrazilianCityUrbanModel.jpg

Urban Morphology & Characteristics of Rio de Janeiro [Land Use Geography]. (2007, March 21).

Retrieved from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_acvKaoKyaXA/RgFLNqSVRyI/AAAAAAAAALk/5FHvIMfJxvg/s1600h/RioMap.jpg

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Brazil Travel [Rio de Janeiro - History]. (n.d.). Retrieved from V-Brasil website: http://www.v-brazil.com/information/geography/rio-de-janeiro/history.html

Brazil's Lula unveils $878 billion investment plan [Program to upgrade Brazil's infrastructure]. (n.d.). Retrieved March 29, 2010, from Reuters website: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2010/03/29/uk-brazil-lula-infrastructure-idUKTRE62S3QR20100329

Rio de Janeiro, more expensive than New York [The Brazilian city occupies the 28th place among the most expensive cities]. (2010, August 25). Retrieved from Across Research website: http://acrossresearch.com/blog/?p=47

The population of the State of Rio de Janeiro [Rio de Janeiro Statistics]. (n.d.). Retrieved August, 2010, from CityPopulation website: http://www.citypopulation.de/php/brazil-riodejaneiro.php