The environment has become an issue of great concern in the world today where international organizations such as the United Nations, through its Committee on the Environment, The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), advocate for environmentally friendly activities. Governments worldwide have been developing policies and taking necessary actions to ensure sustainable development to preserve the environment and avoid compromising future generations’ survivability. These actions have resulted from the rampant environmental challenges being experienced worldwide, including climate change, ocean health, global warming, clean water, and biodiversity.
One of the causes of the environmental challenges is the population, which has been dramatically around the globe. There has been an exponential increase in population against the land, which is a limited resource, resulting in the development of slums that do not enhance environmental sustainability. One of the countries countries with have encountered the problem of the dramatic increase in population is Brazil in Rocinha Favela. Therefore, this report will explain the contextual overview of Rocinha Favela, Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, through its historical development, geographical setting, population estimates, demographic characteristics, and the availability /quality of basic services in the area. The report will also discuss the economic livelihood and environmental hazards, which are contemporary aspects of life in the area.
Contextual overview
Historical Development
The history of Rocinha started in the 1920s when the first clusters of shacks were identified (Lomholt, 2010). It was founded by people from Italy and northeast Brazil who migrated to the area. The great depression, which happened in the late 1920s, was partly responsible for the immense rural-to-urban migration as many poor migrants who had no financial ability to settle in the city’s affluent areas began moving to the emerging favelas (slums) in Rio de Janeiro, such as Rocinha. In Portuguese, the name Rocinha means a small ranch associated with the horse ranch in the area before the Favela (Lomholt, 2010). Rocinha grew rapidly during the 1950s and 1960s, and the growth was largely associated with the destruction of the nearby favelas, real estate expansion of the upper-class neighborhoods around, and the continuation of the rural-to-urban migration (Lomholt, 2010).
Rocinha was regarded as the largest Favela in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s, and many people considered it the largest slum in Latin America (Lomholt, 2010). Concrete and brick houses have substituted wooden shanties as the most used for construction, with some buildings being upto 11 stories tall (Lomholt, 2010). However, several natural disasters have been encountered in the area due to its location on the hillside. According to Lomholt (2010), for instance, in 1988, hundreds of people died during the floods that struck the deforested sides of the hill into the favelas. Also, several families in Rocinha were killed due to a rock fall in 1996. Nevertheless, despite the area’s natural calamities and poor living conditions, Rio de Janeiro’s city government has had policies allowing informal settlement to exist.
Geographic Setting
Among all the favelas in Brazil, Rocinha is considered the largest. It is located in the south zone of Rio de Janeiro between Gávea and São Conrado districts. The Favela is built on a steep hillside facing Rio de Janeiro, about a one-kilometer distance from the nearby beach. Most of it lies on the slopes of Mount Dois Irmaos, is surrounded by many trees, and occupies an area of 0.80 square miles (Weebly, 2010).
Concurrently, the Rocinha favela experiences an oceanic climate. There is usually rainfall in all the months of the year. According to Besttravelmonths (2023), the area has an annual average temperature of 51 degrees, with approximately 308 inches of rain annually. Additionally, it experiences 165 dry days with a 79% humidity average and a UV index of 6 (Besttravelmonths, 2023). The daily temperature average during the day is between 23 degrees celsius and 29 degrees Celsius, while at night, it is 13 degrees and 20 degrees Celcius (Besttravelmonths, 2023). The area also receives rainfall for 183 days and has about 783mm of rainfall and 3051 sun hours throughout the year (Besttravelmonths, 2023).
Population Estimates
favela residents in Rio de Janeiro city make up 22.03 percent of the total population (Weebly, 2010). This implies that of 6.3 million living in the city, 1.4 million are in favelas, where Rocinha is the largest (Weebly, 2010). In the census that was carried out in 2010, the population of Rocinha was approximately 70,000 (Weebly, 2010). However, it is estimated to be higher than that, with predictions of about 150,000 to 300,000, considering the official population by the government an underrepresentation of reality (Weebly, 2010). The area has 25,742 housing units at 0.86 square miles, with some buildings as tall as 7,8,9 and 11 stories (Lomholt, 2010).
Demographic Characteristics
The inhabitants of Rocinha have a very low level of education. On average, Rocinha residents have only 4.1 years of formal education, and less than 1% of adults in the area hold a degree beyond a high school diploma (Mundo Real, 2022). According to City Population (2023), 50% of the population in Rocinha are male, while 49.3% are female. However, the age distribution of the residents is 60 years and more, a total of 5.7%; 15-59 years is 69.6%, and 0-14 years, a total of 24.7%. Moreover, 93.6% of Rocinha residents are literate, while 6.4% are illiterate. Rocha is located between São Conrado and Gavea, at a little more than three kilometers. Compared to Rocinha, the average income in the two areas is almost ten times higher. Workers in the food service industry and porters and maids make up the bulk of Rocinha’s workforce.
Quality/Availability of Basic Services
Rocinha has a more developed infrastructure than other shantytowns, including brick and concrete homes and commercial establishments like pharmacies and banks. Regardless, many families still endure extreme poverty in the slums, and there is a serious shortage of essential infrastructure and services. While almost everyone in Rocinha has access to power and running water, the city’s sanitation is terrible, with sewage flowing in a canal between neighboring homes. Rocinha ranks 120th out of 126 Rio neighborhoods on the Human Development Index, mostly because of its lack of services (Weebly, 2010). Additionally, reports of police brutality, violations of human rights, and citizenship rights happen often.
Rocinha is situated behind the prosperous regions of São Conrado, Leblon, and Ipanema. The location of Rocinha next to a wealthy neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro shows the extreme wealth disparity in the city. Crime is rampant in Rocinha because its residents are younger and less educated than those in other Rio slums. Like other Rio favelas, Rocinha has a high rate of Tuberculosis and other infectious illnesses such as cholera, dengue fever, hepatitis, meningitis, and yellow fever because of its overcrowding and lack of basic sanitation (Campari, 2020).
Furthermore, locals face discrimination and are essentially confined to a shantytown. Basic healthcare and education are frequently out of reach for these people. Unemployment is high, and entering the labor market is difficult and discouraging. However, the community is served by the compassionate non-profit organization “Il Sorriso dei miei Bimbi,” which acts as a link between Italian and Brazilian cultures and keeps a close eye on the needs of a people fighting for equality, respect, and acknowledgment (Campari, 2020).
Contemporary Life Aspects
Health
Numerous health issues can spread in Rocinha, affecting the health globally because of the dominance of contagious diseases in the slum that can easily spread to other areas due to the large rates of migration of individuals in the favelas. The living conditions in Rocinha may not be ideal, but it is perfect for disease transmission. In Rocinha Favela, there are only two health centers; one was established in 2009, and the other is a local church (Weebly, 2010). This is not enough to give health services to people living in the largest slums in Rio de Janeiro and Latin America.
Narrow streets, overcrowded houses, and poor ventilation stimulate the transmission of Tuberculosis, causing Kosch’s bacillus, which is transmitted when a person sneezes or coughs. Tuberculosis is the number one cause of death in Brazil, and it is the first cause of death for people with HIV/AIDS. According to Weebly (2010), in Brazil, the rate of Tuberculosis in 100,000 people is 37.5 cases, much lower than in Rocinha, where in 100,000 people, there are 380 cases. This is the highest tuberculosis rate in any community around the globe. However, efforts focused on slowing the disease work through a Directly Observed Treatment (DOT) system. The rate at which people are getting cured of Tuberculosis has increased from 68% to 84% which is a good improvement (Weebly, 2010).
Another common disease in favelas in Rio and, more specifically, in Rocinha is leprosy. Brazil is the second after India, with the highest leprosy rate, recording 50,000 new cases a year (Weebly, 2010). Many residents in Favela do not know about leprosy or its treatment. Koch’s bacillus is similar to the bacteria that causes leprosy but is not very infectious, as 90 to 95 percent of people are immune naturally (Weebly, 2010). However, leprosy is prevalent in favelas like Rocinha due to the sanitation issues that arise from its dense population, though it does not have much attention, like HIV or TB. Patients with leprosy lose feelings in their limbs, which can result in cuts being infected.
Additionally, Dengue fever is another common disease in Brazilian favelas. Unlike Tuberculosis and leprosy, dengue is a vigorous disease spread by mosquitos. Due to poor sanitation, including running water available only in a few houses and sewerage networks running through the vicinity, Rocinha is a good place for mosquito proliferation. In recent years, such as 2002 and 2008, the dengue epidemic has been popping up in Rocinha (Weebly, 2010). Brazil records fifty percent of dengue fever cases, whereas Seventy percent of the cases happen in Rio. Its characteristics include bleeding, fever, skin rash, and nausea. Moreover, the dengue fever rate rises in the country’s rainy season from November to April as it proliferates in wet climates and falls.
Gender Relations
Gender is a social construction of perceptions, images, and beliefs about femininity and masculinity and the rules of conduct and expectations of women and men ) (Harrison, 2020). In Brazil, modeling gender and interpretation of femininity and masculinity and how the relation between men and women should be is highly influenced by the patriarchal ideology.
To explain the gender relations in Rocinha and Brazil in general, Vermeij (2018) uses the machismo concept to explain the patriarchal gender ideology in Rocinha. The machismo entails gaining control and power over women. It expresses power relations between men, for instance, gambling, fighting, drinking, taking risks, and giving opinions. Additionally, conquering women is done with two audiences in mind, one being oneself while the other is other men to whom you want to prove your masculinity. Therefore, “machismo becomes a way to determine your masculinity through active instead of passive behavior” (Vermeij, 2018). Interestingly, it enforces the concept by showing how women expect their husbands to behave since women expect machismo.
Therefore, in Brazils’ scenario and Rocinha to be precise, the macho figure represents values traditionally related to male roles, which include power and force, sexual potency and virility, and aggression and violence (Vermeij, 2018). In Rocinha, the father figure combined with the macho symbolizing dominance shows what a modern man should be. Moreover, the community has designated certain roles and norms for women and others for men.
Moreover, marianismo is the female counterpart of machismo. In the marianismo, virgin Mary, who had her sufferings in silence, is used in comparison with women. In Rocinha, the suffering of women is made holy by referring to the fact that women are religiously and morally superior to men and can sustain suffering and pain (Vermeij, 2018). On the other hand, the man is required to behave in a bad manner, get drunk, come and go when he wants, and treat the wife as a servant, while the woman is expected to withstand all this.
In conclusion, Rocinha, the largest Favela in Brazil and Latin America, was founded in the 1920s when the first inhabitants were from Italy and the northeast of Brazil. The Favela is located on the slopes of Mount Dois Irmaos and experiences rainfall in all the months of the year. The government estimates the population to be 70,000 and 25,742 housing units in an area of 0.86 square miles. Additionally, the area has a high literacy rate of above 93 percent, with the population of men being greater than women and people living in Rocinha being low-income earners. Moreover, the government has neglected the Favela, resulting in a lack of basic needs such as sanitation and hospitals, which lead to widespread diseases such as Tuberculosis, leprosy, and dengue fever. Also, the gender relations in Rocinha are highly influenced by the patriarchal ideology.
References
Harrison, S. (2020). Gender. In Teaching Early Years (pp. 333–346). Routledge.
write