Favela Chic: gentrifying the slums of brazil
A walk through Rio de Janeiro’s Vidigal favela is a full sensory experience on any given day. The smell
of grilled meat mixes with that of exhaust from motorcycle taxis traversing the slum’s corridors.
And then there are the sounds. Normally it’s Rio’s trademark funk music blaring from various
cars or trucks, but lately it has been the sound of German, English or French being spoken by its
[5] new inhabitants.
Favela Chic, as it’s come to be known, has quickly taken Vidigal by storm, as well as its favela
neighbor Rocinha. A combination of new security forces, low prices and curiosity by outsiders have
brought a wave of new renters to neighborhoods that were once considered unsafe to even visit.
American Kristine Witko moved into Vidigal during the World Cup and says she loves it. “It has more
[10] life because there’s always something going on”, says the 27-year-old New Jersey native. “Bars with
people spilling out of them at 6 a.m., music blaring constantly, always people in the street”.
But in addition to a spate of World Cup visitors, Rio’s favelas have also become popular among
venture capitalists looking to rent or sell to higher-income buyers. Less than 10 years ago, a modest
home here would cost only 2,500.Todayitcanfetch75,000 or more.
[15] While some former favela residents are being priced out of their homes by land prospectors from
the U.S. and Europe, others have been forcibly removed. In Rio, as many as 250,000 have been
relocated, many to the outskirts of the city, far from their former homes. Many complain that the
compensation packages, when offered, are inadequate.
Besides, favelas have often acted as the shelter for those unable to afford other housing options.
[20] “From the beginning, favelas have been not only housing for the poor, but also the poor’s preferred
housing, given the alternatives available and consistent actions of the state to not provide for the
poor, but to hide them from sight”, writes Jason Cummings in his dissertation for Harvard Graduate
School of Design, “Confronting the Favela Chic”.
With the 2016 Rio Olympics looming on the horizon, what will the gentrification in Rio and
[25] throughout Brazil mean for the 12 million people who inhabit the slums out of necessity? Priced
out or forced out, this creates a continuing clash of class for which there are no easy solutions.
theroot.com
Favela Chic, as it’s come to be known, has quickly taken Vidigal by storm, (l. 6)
The expression take by storm can be translated into Portuguese as:
