Outline the differences in lifestyle between groups of people in Brazil’s cities.

What am I learning today? Inequalities that exist in housing

Housing Due to urbanisation, the cities of Brazil are growing all the time. Houses are expensive and there is a housing shortage. Rio and Sao Paulo have greater housing needs than other cities. There is a shortage of good quality housing.

The Favela Due to the shortage of housing, favelas have developed. 90% of cities with a population 500,00 or more have favelas. It is estimated that between 1990 and 2005 the number of people living in favelas grew by 7o per cent.

Favelas can spring up everywhere. They tend to be on land that nobody wants-areas of swampland, on steep hills, along railway lines and even under electricity lines. Houses in favelas are built from whatever is available- plywood, plastic etc.

Paraisopolos Favela 60,000 people- like a small city in Sao Paulo

Inequalities in Housing Favela homes are very overcrowded, often with whole families living on one room and most have no electricity or running water. There are no sewage systems, so waste flows out onto the street. This causes disease to spread easily, for example cholera and typhoid. The favelas that are built on steep hillsides are prone to mudslides and floods.

Flooding The dirt roads in the favelas often flood when it rains. In Rio, where many favelas are built on the sides of hills, a mudslide may wipe out whole communities killing hundreds of people.

Favelas in Rio The biggest Favela in Rio is Rochina. It has over 100,000 inhabitants. Faveladors (favela dwellers) are constantly afraid that they will lose their homes to developers. Clean water supplies is a huge problem as the mains are always at the bottom of the hill. Only about 50% faveladors have a toilet.. Rubbish is rarely collected and often burned. Education and health services are difficult to get- you need to have a permanent address and favelas are not regarded as permanent. Few medical workers in the Favelas. Most medical care is provided by charities or (Non-Governmental Organisations)NGOs. The favelas are a major cause of AIDS and TB spreading throughout Brazil. Typhoid and cholera epidemics are common.

Views of the Favelas Many see them as a source of the cities social problems- crime, violence, family breakdown and the source of poverty. Those who live in the favelas are often despised Good source of cheap labour- building, domestic services. Government will not often admit their existence. Many official maps show vacant plots where thousands of faveladors live.

Explain, in detail, why housing conditions vary widely in Brazil. (8)

The first reason why housing conditions vary widely is due to economic inequalities. (Point). The wealth of Brazil varies widely and there is a huge number of people that live below the poverty line. (Explain). This affects housing as many cannot afford adequate housing. An example of this would be in Sao Paulo which is a very rich city due to coffee production and industrialisation, yet a lot of people still live in poverty. (Examples). The second reason why housing conditions vary is due to the lack of good quality housing. (Point). A lot of people migrate to the cities from the countryside for work and end up living on the street or in a Favela. (Explain). The population of Sao Paulo is 20 million and there is a real shortage of housing. Favelas are built on any spare piece of land. (Examples).

The third reason is why housing conditions vary is due to the type of housing available. (Point). In Rio de Janeiro the biggest Favela is called Rocinha. The conditions here are terrible as many houses don’t have running water or proper electricity. This is in contrast to the rich who live in luxurious apartment blocks which have swimming pools, armed guards and live-in maids. (Explain). In Paraisopolis in Sao Paulo, luxury apartments look down onto overcrowded favelas. (Examples).

The final reason why housing conditions vary widely is because many are forced to live on the street. (Point). This is especially true of children as they have no families and have been forced to become street children. (Explain). Also, favelas are not built to last and in recent years due to mudslides and heavy rainfall many have been left without a house and as a result have ended up homeless. (Examples).