SCC – The Continuing Expansion Of Favelas In Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

June 2014. Despite the lack of official figures, the sense of community leaders and residents of the Ladeira dos Tabajaras and Morro dos Cabritos favelas in Copacabana (a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro), is that the local population has increased substantially, especially after the creation of the Pacifying Police Unit (UPP) in 2010. Longstanding problems such as poor access to health and sanitation, worsened with the arrival of new residents, who in many cases, lived on asphalt prior to their arrival.

For example, the João Barros Barreto family Clinic in the favela has already reached a patient limit. The last registration was made in 2011 and, today, many people are left without access to healthcare. Danilo Ferreira, president of the Association of Residents of Ladeira dos Tabajaras and Morro dos Cabritos, is reminded that other services also do not account for growth, like water sanitation and sewage. The community leader says that these networks are old and in need of repair and expansion. He estimates that since 1990 the population has increased by approximately 35% (with higher growth after the establishment of UPP).