Global Report on Human Settlements 2007 - PoA-ISS

Disaster risk: Conditions, trends and impacts
187
Box 7.10 Living with risk in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Rio de Janeiro is home to over 10 million people, of which nearly
one third live in slums known as favelas. Many favela residents were
originally squatters and the vast majority lack legal title to their
homes. Rocinha, one of Rio de Janeiro’s richest and most developed
favelas, is home to between 100,000 and 150,000 people. Rocinha’s
highly prized location in the south zone of Rio (Zona Sul) includes
famous seafront neighbourhoods such as Copacabana, Ipanema and
Leblon. In the absence of state presence, except for frequent police
incursions, it is controlled by those involved in organized drug
trafficking. Violence caused by frequent intra-gang warfare and
police invasions, coupled with densely populated living conditions,
make the favela an undesirable place to live. Most inhabitants dream
of saving enough money to move out of the favela; but very few
ever do.Yet, living in Rochina is an advantage, given its proximity to
some of Rio’s richest neighbourhoods and, hence, potential sources
of employment.
Rocinha’s population is home to various social groups, and
certain areas of the favela are more expensive to live in than others.
The very bottom of the favela, across the highway from the wealthy
neighbourhood of Sao Conrado, is relatively prosperous and many
homes have legal titles. Neighbourhoods located further up the
mountain are generally poorer and more prone to disaster because
of the difficulty of building on a nearly vertical mountain slope. One
of these neighbourhoods is Roupa Suja, the top of which is located
right below a vertical wall of rock and considered a Zona de Risco –
or risk area – by the Rio de Janeiro city government. Technically,
residents are prohibited from building and living in this area; but
many are so poor that they have no alternative place to build. The
majority of the residents living in this area immigrated to Rio
attempting to escape even greater poverty in the rural droughtstricken
northeast. Others immigrated from different favelas in Rio
after urban renewal campaigns razed many of these. Some also
come from poorer favelas on the city’s periphery.
Several people die every year in mudslides caused by heavy
rains in Rio’s favelas. Deforestation at the edge of Rochina, as it
expands into the national forest of Tijuca, has worsened this risk.
Rio’s municipal government, as well as residents themselves, have
built aqueducts to channel the water away from homes; but these
do not protect all areas of the favela. The danger of falling rocks is
perhaps greater than that of rain. Since the homes at the top of the
favela are directly beneath a vertical overhang, rocks break off due
to erosion and fall on the homes below.
Faced each day with multiple types of risk – from natural
hazards, violence and disease – the residents of Roupa Suja’s Zona
de Risco lead a precarious and difficult life. Most stay because they
have nowhere else to go.
Income generation
is a more immediate
concern for the poor
than disaster risk
Source: Carter, 2006
environmentally secure location, but one that offers limited
livelihood opportunities. Income generation is a more
immediate concern for the urban poor than disaster risk. For
25 years, the Yemuna River drainage reserve in central Delhi
has served as an informal settlement for just this reason. 81
Regular flooding has not reduced the demand for living space
in this high-risk location.
The strong social bonds that exist in many slums can
be a resource for building resilience; but slum dwellers can
also experience social isolation, particularly when they are
new to the city. Recent rural migrants are often identified as
among the most vulnerable people in cities. In Dhaka
(Bangladesh), for example, the urban poor are mainly rural
migrants whose lack of access to secure housing and livelihoods
is compounded by the absence of familial support. 82
Work in Los Angeles (US) has shown that legal and illegal
migrants from Latin America live in the least wellconstructed
housing built before earthquake codes were
introduced. 83
Building control and land-use planning
A key determinant of the physical vulnerability of buildings
and infrastructure in urban areas is the enforcement of
building and land-use planning regulations. In the absence of
such controls, or a lack of observance of the same, unsafe
construction and land-use practices will flourish, generating
greater vulnerability. This section examines the effects of
safe building construction and land-use planning on urban
disaster risk.
■ Safe building construction
The rapid supply of housing to meet rising demand without
compliance with safe building codes is a principal cause of
disaster loss in urban areas. The failure of urban administrations
to enforce safe building practices exacerbates urban
disaster risk in three ways:
• Unsafe housing increases the likelihood of injury and
damage to property during a disaster.
• Debris from damaged buildings is a major cause of
injury during and after disaster.
• The loss of dwellings through disaster places a major
strain on individuals and on the sustainability of
communities and cities.
There are few urban settlements that are not covered by
building codes. However, in order for building codes to
work, they need to be appropriate – that is, to be designed in
light of prevailing and likely future hazard risks, and to take
into account prevalent building materials and architectural
customs. In particular, while some core aspects might be
retained, the importation of one country’s building codes to
another requires careful thought. Jamaica’s building codes
were based on British templates; but these required revision
to provide security in a country exposed to hurricanes. 84 In
cities exposed to multiple hazards, careful judgement has to
be used to balance risks in building design – for example, offsetting
the preferred steep roof pitches for volcanic ash fall
against the flatter roof design for properties exposed to
hurricane-force winds.
The rapid supply of
housing to meet
rising demand
without compliance
with safe building
codes is a principal
cause of disaster
loss in urban areas