Employment level and opportunities: The 2010 Development Effectiveness Overview (DEO) report issued by IDB, the sponsor of the Favela-Barrio project, states that: “There is still little evidence of impact on employment, participation in social and recreational activities, or other behavioural changes”. However, there is a hope that with increased education level and higher school attendance, new employment opportunities may arise within the next decade Education and skills: While infrastructure improvement was a major focus of the first part Favela-Bairro, part two shifted towards the social aspect of upgrading. In their paper “The Life-cycle Approach”, Jose Brakarz and Wanda Engle Aduan (2004) describe an innovative approach to favela redevelopment that sees the family unit as the core of upgrading. The authors argue that the poverty cycle can only be broken by an amalgam of social protection, integration and promotion. Applied to Favela-Bairro, the life-cycle approach involved: • Full-time assistance for children 0-6 years old provided by community members trained and hired by residents’ associations or NGOs; • “Oficina da Crianca”, an afterschool program for children aged 7-14, designed to help with education and improve academic performance of favela children. Afterschool educational activities have also been shown to reduce child labour; • Professional training for teenagers – the most challenging group due to its exposure to illicit business, drug trafficking and early pregnancies; special attention has been given to improving school attendance; • “Centros de Convivencia”, community centres created to encourage the elderly to remain involved in family life and take care of younger generations. Since the implementation of the project, IDB notes an increase in school attendance of youth 5-20 years old. (IDB, 2010 Development Effectiveness Overview) Favela-Bairro acted as the trigger inspiring other 41
organizations to work alongside the main project. For example, ever since the first phase of upgrading, professional training programs have been provided through Fundo de Amparo ao Trabalhador. (IDB, 2010 Development Effectiveness Overview) Financial situation of slum dwellers: All Favela-Bairro upgrades were carried out in situ, meaning no displacement for the favela community. In situ upgrades are usually conducted through issuing land tenure titles, or another sort of security provision so that the land can become a monetary asset for the community. Favela-Bairro, however, did not guarantee this to participating communities. In the paper “Is legalized land tenure necessary in slum upgrading? Learning from Rio’s land tenure policies in the Favela Bairro Program”, Kenan Handzic (2009) explains how not legalizing land helps to keep the cost of housing maintenance low after an upgrading project has been completed –lack of land tenure translates to no taxes or formal monthly payments, easing the financial situation of the community. Even without legal tenure, home owners in favelas have an opportunity to rent out. Due to land shortages in desirable locations, favelas often verticalize – giving current house owners an opportunity to sell or rent out their roof space – lajes – for further housing unit development. Handzic (2009) quotes values for lajes sales at 8000 to 10000 Reals (circa £1,770 to 2,200) for properties with no land tenure rights and 3 times more for the legally registered ones. Similar rates apply to rentals. This tendency allows favela newcomers to find accommodation for a moderate price. Thus, a lack of legal tenure may be beneficiary for urban poor. On the other hand, luck of tenure ownership always indicates a level of instability, with political changes, future leaders may decide to evict favelas again. Inhabitants may not be willing to improve their shack feeling uncertain of long lasting future. In 2010, IBD stated that an increase of 15% was seen in overall household income (IDB, 2010 Development Effectiveness Overview).