You asked, you got it!! Favela in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil!

[Xing]

Originally Posted by crisp444

You're right; you didn't ask specifically for favellas and crime, but in the other thread you did ask to see a more balanced vision of Brazil.. Now that you've seen Trantor's pictures of upper and middle class areas, Mary's photos of super wealthy areas, and now these favela pics, the forum is a bit more balanced with respect to Brazil. I like Mary's pictures, but you're right.. she does go out of her way to photograph the super nice stuff. Thanks Trantor!

You hit the nail on the head of what the real issue was, as did BNA. These threads, all together, do give a sense of the sociology of Brazil .

[Kilgore Trout]

from what i've seen, favelas in brazil are very organic. as they are improved by their inhabitants --- think of rocinha in rio --- they become pretty much indistinguishable in form from old neighbourhoods like the north end of boston or the bairro alto in lisbon.

[Kilgore Trout]

here are some street-level photos from various flickr users of rocinha, a favela in rio de janeiro.

[James Bond Agent 007]

^
Great pics, Kilgore. Yes, there is absolutely a sense of vibrancy to a place like that. Can't find that in many of the semi-abandoned parts of Detroit, can we.

However, I think I would trust the electrical wiring in the American slums more than in the one in Rio.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Thanks for the additional pics KT, good stuff.

[Xing]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Interesting. I've seen lots of pics of favelas in Rio and Sao Paulo but not in any Brazilian southern cities.

These don't look all that bad (aside from the violence). It reminds me of the aerials of Cuidad Juarez, Mexico I got for my El Paso sprawl thread.

This one looks like it used to be a slum but they've been fixing them up:


Not so fixed up.

None of those are slums. My cousins live in homes much like that one. Most people in Juarez stay in the same home they've grown up in, and if, or as they prosper, will add additions to the same house, inside and out.

The slums in Juarez are on the northwest side of the city, and can be seen easily from the Unvisersity of Texas El Paso. They are significantly worst than what you will see in the rest of Mexico, because many immigrants from all over Latin America, become stranded in Juarez, as they try and enter the United States. They are often stranded with little to no money, and have to work their way back to a living.

There are several ways of knowing you're looking at the slums. Look for dirt roads, a lot of cars in disrepair, and there seem to be a lot of green roofs. In Juarez you can also look for the canal highway. The Mexican government is cheap as hell, and doesn't do a whole lot for its poor.

[Xing]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

Interesting. I've seen lots of pics of favelas in Rio and Sao Paulo but not in any Brazilian southern cities.

These don't look all that bad (aside from the violence). It reminds me of the aerials of Cuidad Juarez, Mexico I got for my El Paso sprawl thread.

This one looks like it used to be a slum but they've been fixing them up:


Not so fixed up.

My cousins live in homes much like those. yThey're not reall the worst places in Juarez... although the last one might be near downtown, where you could find a lot of prostitution and clubs. Most people in Juarez stay in the same home they've grown up in, and if, or as they prosper, will add additions to the same house, inside and out. Like in the US, the types of people in the older , more urban hoods, are much more diverse. Also, like in East St Louis, people focus more on the insides of their homes, because fixing your home up nicely outside is begging for a burglary.

The slums in Juarez are on the northwest side of the city, and can be seen easily from the Unvisersity of Texas El Paso. They are significantly worst than what you will see in the rest of Mexico, because many immigrants from all over Latin America, become stranded in Juarez, as they try and enter the United States. They are often stranded with little to no money, and have to work their way back to a living.

There are several ways of knowing you're looking at the slums. Look for dirt roads, and also look for the canal highway (when looking at Juarez). The Mexican government is cheap as hell, and doesn't do a whole lot for its poor.

[Trantor]

Originally Posted by James Bond Agent 007

^
Great pics, Kilgore. Yes, there is absolutely a sense of vibrancy to a place like that. Can't find that in many of the semi-abandoned parts of Detroit, can we.

However, I think I would trust the electrical wiring in the American slums more than in the one in Rio.

there is a reason for that. Since slums are built in irregular areas (the poor simply invade and start building) public services do not exist for a long time, after all, the government never stoped them invading the area (probably for popularity among the poor voters) but giving public services right away is like legalizing the issue.

after due process of desapropriation of the occupied lands or regularization, the government/private companies can start giving services there... even so, many eletrical connections in slums are GATOS (means cats, dont know why, anyway, its irregular outlaw connections).