SEATTLE — Though its name means “Joyful Harbor” in Portuguese, the city of Porto Alegre is home to one of Brazil’s many urban slums, or favelas.
The haphazardly arranged settlements popped up around Brazil’s cities during widespread migration among rural residents to urban areas. The migrants, often looking for work, were part of a demographic shift known as rural flight. According to a 2010 census, roughly 6 percent of Brazilians today live in a favela.
The slums of Porto Alegre in particular, made news during the 2014 World Cup. Leading up to the event, thousands were evicted from their homes to make way for infrastructure improvements, such as wider roads and highways needed to accommodate tourists. According to the Washington Post, one Brazilian human rights group estimated the projects threatened 32,000 people with eviction in Porto Alegre alone. Though the World Cup was initially predicted to be a windfall for the Brazilian economy, many experts now doubt its benefits for tourism and other key industries.
Critics of the 2014 World Cup took issue with the injustices of relocations; many residents weren’t given adequate warning before their homes were demolished and they received little compensation. Though better infrastructure is needed to alleviate urban poverty, a process known as “participatory budgeting” may be a far more effective approach.
Participatory budgeting directly involves citizens in the budgeting process, especially in allocations for capital spending. In this way, improvements to infrastructure are far more likely to reflect the needs of average citizens.
It has been a great success in Porto Alegre, leading to huge improvements in housing, education, healthcare and sanitation. The World Bank notes the program has inspired other cities to implement similar programs.
Participatory budgeting may be a helpful example to the world at large. The United Nations estimated that 863 million people lived in slums in 2012. Slums are often built in dangerous locations, such as areas prone to flooding.
Pollution is another major concern for slum dwellers. Basic sanitation is often lacking, resulting in unclean drinking water. The result of this can be devastating,with outbreaks of cholera and diarrhea.
The growth of urban populations in the developing world will be a defining demographic shift in coming decades. According to one U.N. report, cities in the developing world account for 95 percent of urban growth. The world’s urban population increases by 120 people every minute and 77 percent of Latin Americans live in a city.
– Kevin McLaughlin
Sources: Bloomberg, United Nations, Washington Post 1, Washington Post 2, World Bank
Photo: The Global Compact