GEO Brasil - UNEP

the state of urban and industrial areas
the state of the environment in Brazil
policies geared towards sustainable
development principles and the
accommodation of conflicting
interests
The rapid adoption of the international
industrial framework in Brazil
internalised production patterns
(chemicals, petrochemicals, metals
and mechanics, transport supplies,
timber, paper and pulp and nonmetallic
minerals) with a strong
impact on the environment Focusing
on the peculiarities of individual
ecosystems, this impact depends in
turn on factors such as the industrial
structure’s nature in connection with
the natural environment, on the
intensity and spatial concentration of
industrial goods and segments and
on the technological standard of
production (Map 6)
4 analysis of urban environmental quality
The recent changes and trends in the Brazilian municipal networks indicate a
series of common urban environmental problems, which make pressure on the
natural resource base The issues related to land access, soil use and occupation,
environmental sanitation, urban transportation and development of economic
activities are highlighted among the issues affecting the sustainable development
of Brazilian cities
The urban expansion process in the last four decades is a result from an intense
rural-to-urban population shift and disparities in income between regions, and
determined the disorganised occupation of the urban soil, making pressure on
the governments for the implementation of services and infrastructure This
process, which co-occurred with the progressive decline in public finances, failed
to meet many of the society’s demands, contributing towards the aggravation of
the scenario in metropolitan areas and in other large cities
Map 6 - Urbanisation of the territory/ urban agglomerations - 1996
The new potentialities offered by
computing and bioengineering now
have essentially altered the concept
of appropriation of Natural Resources
Degradation and processing of
genetic codes have given new life to
Biological Reserves, which have
become invaluable sources of genetic
knowledge
The replacement of the old style of
concentration in industrial plants in
districts situated either in the
periphery of hub cities or in
metropolitan areas also creates a new
relationship between production and
environment The changes in spatial
distribution and specialisation of
production activities shaped by
globalisation of the economy exert an
influence at both local and regional
level, thus provoking other types of
impact on the environment and bring
the need for a new response in terms
of an environmental policy
Sources: National Atlas of Brazil - IBGE - 2000
41 Land Access and Housing Deficit
The number of people living in slums overcame the 5 million mark in 1991 The
slums have been extending in all areas, even those where there is a sharp decline
in the population growth rates as a whole The slums grow particularly in the
Northeast (from 1524 percent to 2575 percent) and North regions (from 315
percent to 952 percent) In some cities, virtually half of the constructed area is
irregular and/or informal, including issues from the construction’s lack of safety
to the ways vulnerable areas are occupied The land irregularity represents an
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