Rocinha is a favela (slum) located in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, located 15km from the city center. Its population of more than 100,000 inhabitants is distributed around a 143.72ha valley that is surrounded by the rock... [ view full abstract ]
Rocinha is a favela (slum) located in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro, located 15km from the city center. Its population of more than 100,000 inhabitants is distributed around a 143.72ha valley that is surrounded by the rock formations of the Tijuca Rocky Massif and Atlantic forest of the national park, and occupied by the compact construction of the favela houses. This paper addresses two different urban phenomenon’s that currently take place in the Rocinha. On the one hand, that of the expansion of the houses, typically made through the construction on the rooftop (the upper slab), an operation locally known as the construção de laje (upper slab construction). These works are self-help processes whenever the goal is to meet families needs regarding built areas to accommodate new family members, or; constructions featuring local contractor or workers, as seen in recent times, when the construction results from the selling of the building rights relate to the rooftop, in a process of verticalization that may acquire significant and unexpected dimensions. Thus, it is common to find three, four or even five and six-storey houses, built in seemingly precarious techniques, with narrow superposed volumes defying gravity. These operations express with remarkable clarity the concept of incremental housing, not grounded in design and intellectuality, as delivered by acclaimed architects, such as Pritzker-winner Alejandro Aravena, rather in its most popular and pragmatic sense, instead.
On the other hand, as a result of public resettlement operations consisting of clearing of tangled webs of narrow and dark and unhealthy alleys that cross upside down the favela, new urban spaces rises. They are often bordered by lines of remaining superposed houses punctuate by collective social houses with low density, frequently three-storey buildings. These buildings replace the row houses stuck at the alleys and provide decent and affordable houses to the removed families. As an example, we will take the Number 4 street, accessible to cars, built on the old road of the same name through a complex process of de-densification that involved demolition and removal of many houses, partially or entirely. This urban renew was carried out thanks to the resources of a federal program of urbanization of precarious settlements (favelas) conducted by the state government, but with the involvement of different local actors, including local associations and community activists. This paper analyses both phenomenon, the incremental housing and the urban renew, emphasizing the social sustainability issues underlying the private and public process. It will be looking at the role-played by the different stakeholders, from householders to local leaders, NGO and social technicians, as well as designers and local representatives, analising their interactions. The collection of data and subsequent analysis comprises diverse methods ranging from literature review, examination of architectural and urban projects, surveys, interviews, co-mapping and inquiries to the householders. Conclusions highlight the social networks that arose and consolidate over the slum upgrading process and qualify the interactions among the members of those networks.
