Lornshill Academy

Geography Department Higher Revision Human Environments - Urban

Human Environments Urban

Reasons for increased urban growth

There are many reasons for increased urban growth in the developing world. Some of which are:

 increasing birth rates and decreasing death rates  improved health care in many developing countries leading to longer life expectancies  employment opportunities are greater within urban areas  better paid jobs in the cities, an expected higher standard of living, and more reliable food are all pull factors - reasons why people are attracted to the city  people who migrate to towns and cities tend to be young adults and therefore have higher birth rates  better medical conditions compared to the countryside mean more successful births and a better life expectancy

However, there are many problems associated with rapid growth. These include unplanned housing (squatter settlements/shanty towns), dealing with urban waste, pollution and stress on infrastructure and the city's services.

Problems in urban areas

Population growth has led to problems in many urban areas.

Traffic congestion is a major issue in developed and developing countries.

In developed world cities, there has been an increase in the number of cars on the road. As more people move to the edge of towns and cities, traffic congestion may get worse.

Many people will drive their cars into the city centre for work. Substantial numbers get there on newer, larger roads or motorways.

These roads then link up with older, narrower roads in the city centre. This causes a bottleneck and congestion. Many inner city areas, with a network of narrow roads and many junctions, cannot cope with the increased volume of traffic.

Further traffic issues include:

 increasing numbers of private and commercial vehicles in the city centre  cost or lack of public transport  cars parking on the main roads and a shortage of adequate parking facilities in the city centre

In developing countries, population growth in urban areas has exploded, leading to many people trying to access the cities for work. This situation is worsened by poor public transport. Developing world governments cannot afford to invest in the infrastructure, therefore roads are in disrepair. 2 | P a g e

Reducing traffic congestion in developed world cities

In developed countries, cities have tried to manage this problem by introducing traffic management schemes.

These schemes may include:

 Park and ride schemes - people park in car parks on the edge of a settlement and catch public transport into the centre.  Congestion charging schemes, such as those in Durham and London.  Vehicle exclusion zones - for example large vehicles may not be allowed to enter narrow roads or residential areas.  Permit holder parking - certain parts of the city, especially the centre can only be parked in by residents or business users who have a permit. Users often have to pay for this.  Car-pooling - encourages people to share cars only driving when they really need to.  Prioritised road lanes - usually for buses,taxis and cycles. Bradford has introduced 2+ lanes that only cars with high numbers of occupants can use.  Low emission zones, as in London.  Separate cycle lanes.  Traffic calming - including road narrowing, speed bumps and reduced speed limits.

Transport Problems in Glasgow

As with most major cities in the developed world, Glasgow suffers major problems with traffic congestion. This is caused by: Increasing car numbers There are more cars on the road today than ever before. In 1991 the residents of Glasgow owned 107,000 cars. By 2005 this had risen to 160,000, an increase of 50%. More road journeys are therefore made by car as people prefer cars to public transport, as they are more convenient.

Commuters Approximately 25% of people who work in Glasgow do not live in the city. Each day commuters converge on the city centre during the morning and evening rush hours, causing congestion.

3 | P a g e

Few bridging points Glasgow only has a limited number of bridging points across the River Clyde. Vehicles are funnelled into a number of bottlenecks, which increases congestion. The Kingston Bridge alone has to cope with 170,000 vehicles per day despite being built to carry 20,000 per day in 1970.

Narrow streets The Victorian grid-iron streets in Glasgow’s CBD were built before the age of the car. The streets are narrow, and this is often made worse by cars parking at the side of the road.

Vibrations from traffic can damage buildings Increased journey More accidents times

Problems of increased traffic

Increased noise from Road rage traffic Increased pollution from vehicle exhausts

Solutions to Glasgow’s traffic problems

Construction of new roads During the 1960s and 1970s, the three-lane M8 motorway was built right through the centre of Glasgow, across areas including Anderston, Kingston and Townhead. The Kingston Bridge (opened 1970, see Figure 9.2) carries the M8 across the River Clyde.

New expressways (dual carriageways with two lanes instead of three) such the Clydeside Expressway (see Figure 9.3) and the Springburn Expressway have improved access into the city centre. In recent years both the M80 (north) and the M77 (south) have also improved access into Glasgow for commuters.

The Clyde Tunnel (opened 1963) and the Erskine Bridge (1971) allow vehicles to cross the Clyde further downstream and ease the pressure on the city centre.

4 | P a g e

The M74 extension A controversial scheme to extend the M74 into the centre of Glasgow was announced in 2003 at a cost of £500 million. The motorway stopped 5 miles south-east of the city centre. Glasgow City Council argued the extension will ease congestion and take traffic away from the M8, one of the busiest motorways in Britain. However, local communities were upset as homes and businesses would have to be demolished to make way for the road. There were also concerns that the road would increase noise and pollution from exhausts. Environmentalists argued that any new roads will simply fill up with more cars, and that investment needs to be made in alternatives, including public transport. The extension finally opened in June 2011 at a cost of £692m.

Improvements to public transport Glasgow’s local rail network is the second largest in any British city after London. Over 70 stations connect the suburbs with Queen Street and Glasgow Central stations. The busiest stations have been modernised and their platforms extended to cope with longer trains. A new line from Larkhall to Milngavie was opened up again after 40 years. A new rail link to Glasgow Airport from Paisley costing £200 million was proposed but the project was shelved as it was too costly.

Park-and-ride schemes have been introduced across the city, where commuters can park their car for free next to a station in the suburbs and complete their journey into the city centre by train. The number of cyclists travelling into and out of Glasgow city centre has gone up by 25% since 2009.

Glasgow’s subway During the late 1970s Glasgow’s subway (underground railway) was modernised, electrified and the stations enlarged. It provides a fast, efficient service; trains call every 4 minutes at the 15 stations at peak times. Over 14 million people use the subway each year. Plans for long-overdue refurbishment were made in 2005 which would allow disabled access at all stations for the first time. In 2011, new driverless trains, a smart ticketing system and a major upgrading of the signalling system were also introduced.

Improving traffic flow in the CBD The methods that have been put in place in the city centre to improve traffic flow include:  introducing a one-way system  traffic wardens, parking meters and yellow lines to limit parking on streets  building more multi-storey car parks, especially near shopping centres  creating bus lanes to allow public transport to move more quickly  pedestrianisation of major shopping streets (Sauchiehall St, Buchanan St and Argyle St) to improve safety for shoppers.

Glasgow has so far chosen not to use congestion charging, which is used in London. Drivers are charged £10 for travelling into London’s CBD each day in a bid to encourage the use of public transport instead. Although expensive to set up (the system is monitored by hundreds of cameras), there has been a noticeable decrease in traffic and exhaust pollution in London’s city centre. However, the scheme is expensive and unpopular with drivers, who see it as another tax on motorists. Since its inception some changes have been made and drivers of vehicles with ultra-low emissions now don’t have to pay. 5 | P a g e

Housing problems in developed countries Social and demographic changes are leading to a greater demand for housing in developed countries. People are living longer, choosing to marry later and in recent years there has been a rise in the number of single-parent families. Added to this, the UK is experiencing immigration from other countries.

Since Eastern European countries joined the EU, people from Poland and other countries have travelled to the UK to find work. However, building new, affordable homes in urban areas is difficult. Land values are very high and land is in short supply. In many Scottish and UK cities, housing redevelopments have learned from the mistakes of the post-war years and are now upgrading the quality of low cost housing while trying to retain, and in many cases improve the sense of community. There is a drive to improve infrastructure and opportunities in these areas, rather than ‘rehouse and flatten’. This contrasts with recent suggestions from cities such as Mumbai where local authorities are planning to flatten huge areas of slum housing. These areas obviously have huge welfare issues but benefit from a strong community and entrepreneurial spirit.

Thirty years ago most urban renewal involved knocking down existing buildings - urban redevelopment - and replacing them with new ones. Today older buildings are often improved or renovated, not demolished. This means local people can continue living in the area.

Suburban 20th/21st century residential areas are located:

 on the outskirts of a city  near the green belt  within commuting distance from the CBD

Features of these areas include:

 expensive private housing  detached houses, with gardens and garages  high land values  main roads/railway stations near, but not in, area for commuters  street patterns which prevent through traffic and allow privacy and attractive designs, such as cul-de-sacs/crescents  close proximity to the green belt and, often, attractive landscapes such as woodlands, parkland and river valleys and lakes  amenities, including golf courses, schools, churches and small shopping areas  low density housing, with open spaces and landscaping

Why are these 20th century residential areas in the suburbs?

 cities expanded outwards because there was no room near the centre  commuters can travel to the CBD for work by car or train  suburbs offer a less polluted environment, away from industrial areas  there are attractive surroundings, open spaces, farmland and golf courses  there is room to build housing estates with large houses and gardens

6 | P a g e

Developed country case study – Glasgow Council Estates Glasgow Corporation (city council) originally planned to build low density, semi-detached council houses at the city’s edge. Houses would have gardens and be set in pleasant surroundings. However the high cost and large amounts of land required, meant cheaper 3 and 4 storey blocks of tenement style flats were built instead. A total of 200,000 people were relocated to four main areas during the 1950s and 1960s - Castlemilk, Drumchapel, Easterhouse and Pollok.

Problems in the Council Estates Often families had little say in where they were moved to which led to the close-knit community spirit of the old inner city areas being destroyed. The planners forgot about shops, pubs, cinemas and community buildings and provided few workplaces. For instance Drumchapel had only post office, one telephone box and a half hourly bus service to the city centre. Those without cars were left feeling isolated. As people did not appreciate their new areas, parts of these estates became run down and gained a reputation for crime. Families moved out, leaving empty houses prone to vandalism and many streets fell into disrepair. Glasgow City Council has been forced to spend large sums improving these areas over the last decade, installing new windows, heating systems, kitchens and bathrooms to improve the quality of life. To improve security CCTV cameras and wardens have also been introduced. The worst areas of derelict housing in Easterhouse and Pollok have actually been demolished, less than four decades after they were built.

High Rise Flats As the option of building council estates on the edge of the city was very expensive, the space cleared by the demolition of tenements in the inner city could be used to construct high rise flats, a cheaper and quicker option to rehouse thousands of families. Glasgow built more of these tower blocks flats than any other city in Europe; over 300 in total were constructed. Astonishingly, Glasgow had solved its housing crisis in only a couple of decades, or so it seemed.

Problems of the High Rise Flats Gorbals Tower Block

It soon became evident these tower blocks had a number of problems. . In the rainy west of Scotland, dampness quickly spread from the flat roofs; this was made worse by poor materials and neglect. . The high rise flats also had social problems; families often felt detached and isolated when living on the twentieth floor. . The situation was made worse when the lifts were out of action or vandalised. Families refused to live in these blocks and they moved out. The empty flats attracted squatters, drug dealers and vandalism. By 1987, Glasgow Council had given up trying to repair and rent out many of the flats which had been empty. Over 100 of these tower blocks have since been demolished, The high rise flats which remain have been significantly improved. Flats have been modernised and to improve safety and security CCTV cameras and entry phone systems have been installed. Entrance foyers are fitted with security lighting and some tower blocks have 24 hour wardens.

7 | P a g e

Modernisation of the Tenements

The first stage in improvement involved removing internal walls to make flats much bigger; very often two flats would be knocked into one. They were also rewired and new central heating systems were installed; windows were double glazed; and new kitchens and bathrooms were fitted.

Tenement Renovation

On the outside, they were sandblasted to remove the dirt and grime of 100 years of pollution to reveal the attractive red sandstone which they were built of. Trees and shrubs have been planted in wasteland to improve the surrounding environment. Some tenement streets have also been converted into cul-de-sacs or one way systems to reduce the traffic flow and make it much safer for families to live. Renovation has proved to be a much cheaper and effective option than building new council estates or high rise flats.

Urban regeneration projects

There are a number of large projects underway to redevelop both the north and south banks of the River Clyde. A whole series of educational resources are available about the Clyde Waterfront project at www.clydewaterfronteducation.com. A video called ‘River of Opportunity’ also shows some of the new developments.

Glasgow Harbour This project has focused on redeveloping a 3-km stretch of quayside in Yorkhill and Partick. The area includes the site of the former Meadowside Granary, redundant shipyards, docklands and warehouses, and the disused Glasgow to Clydebank railway. In total about 120 acres of land are being redeveloped, and the project will be funded mainly by private developers, although contributions will come from Glasgow City Council, the European Union Redevelopment Fund and the National Lottery. The redevelopment will include:

 2500 new flats for 5000 people  200,000 m2 of office space  50,000 m2 of retail and leisure developments  Glasgow’s new transport museum  a light tramway linking the area with the city centre  public space (about 40% of the toal area), which will include walkways and cycle paths in the form of a ‘linear park’.

It was estimated that redevelopment of the area would take around 10 years and cost £500 million. Phase 1 started in 2002, with the demolition of the granary and the construction of 650 new private flats on the site. This was completed in 2007. Phase 2 comprises more housing with a total of 819 apartments being built with views over the river. Some of this work was completed by 2009 but the final residential phase was put on hold. Glasgow Harbour commercial district is ready to be developed and plans are in place for retailing and leisure. The new Riverside Museum was opened in June 2011 to house Glasgow’s transport collection.

8 | P a g e

Pacific Quay Across the river from Glasgow Harbour, the Pacific Quay development is a mixture of business, housing and leisure. It is situated on the site of Glasgow’s Princes Dock, which closed during the 1970s. It includes:

 a media village where BBC Scotland (opened 2007), Scottish Television (opened 2006), Capital FM Radio and BIP Digital Solutions (opened 2008) are based  leisure developments, eg the Glasgow Science Centre, IMAX Cinema and Millennium Tower  50,000 m2 of office space  several hotels, eg a Premier Inn and a De Vere Urban Village  the River Clyde seaplane service  300+ new houses.

To provide better access to the development, the £20 million Finnieston Bridge connects the area with the north side of the river. It is the first low-level traffic bridge to be built across the Clyde for a century. Its distinctive arch provides Glasgow with an instantly recognisable landmark.

Gentrification Gentrification occurs when run-down areas of the inner city or CBD are restored and renovated by wealthy groups moving back into these areas to live. Property prices increase in value as a result.

Several parts of the centre of Glasgow have been gentrified, as described below.

The Merchant City Glasgow’s Merchant City is found at the eastern edge of the CBD. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, this was the main trading area, where tobacco and cotton merchants met and sold their products. However, Glasgow’s CBD moved westwards when the main railway stations (Central, St Enoch and Queen Street) opened in the late nineteenth century.

Until the 1980s this was an area that was run down, and many buildings and warehouses lay derelict. However, significant amounts of money have been spent restoring traditional buildings and converting them into flats, offices, hotels, bars and restaurants. Examples of gentrification in the Merchant City include the Italian Centre, the complete renovation of Candleriggs and Brunswick Street, and the conversion of the City Halls into bars and restaurants, known as Merchant Square. Construction projects are common in this area, for example the conversion of the former Evening Times newspaper offices into luxury flats.

The ‘new’ Gorbals Across the river from the Merchant City is the Gorbals, traditionally one of Glasgow’s roughest and most deprived neighbourhoods. With the demolition of some of its high-rise flats, there was plenty of land available for development. Some of this has been sold to private house builders, who have built luxury private flats. The Gorbals area is going through a revival and is becoming a much more desirable and pleasant place to live

9 | P a g e

Advantages and disadvantages

Although the buildings in the area are restored to their original states, new housing is created and crime is reduced, gentrification can cause problems. The huge rises in property prices often force out the traditional working class people who previously lived in these areas, as they simply cannot afford to buy or rent property in these areas. The people who remain may also be unhappy at these changes and resent ‘outsiders’ moving in.

Developing country case study -

Rio de Janeiro is surrounded by mountains and this makes traffic management difficult. A large volume of traffic is forced along a few main roads causing severe congestion, noise and air pollution from vehicle exhausts.

In the past, most of the journeys in Rio were made by bus or private car, with only a small percentage of journeys made via the metro system and rail network. This has changed in recent years as efforts have been made to improve transport in the city.

Rio de Janeiro is the most congested city in South America, but officials have worked hard to improve its transport system in time for hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. is investing in expanding train and subway lines and improving road infrastructure as it works to cut down on Rio's infamous congestion.

A recent study showed that an average drive through Rio will take fifty per cent longer at peak times, compared to off-peak times.

For example, commuters traveling to or from Barra da during evening rush hour, suffer long delays daily. The number of cars in Rio de Janeiro has grown by over forty percent in the last decade and traffic congestion is an increasing problem.

The city declared three extra public holidays during the recent World Cup to alleviate traffic congestion. Rio and Sao Paulo witessed increased congestion every time a game was played but the situation was much better than expected.

Rio Niteroi Bridge

The Rio Niteroi bridge is 14 km long and was one of the longest in the world when it opened in 1974. It connects Rio with the city of Niteroi across Guanabarra Bay, providing a shorter alternative to a 80 km road journey or a one-hour ferry crossing. However, due to rising levels of car ownership, each end of the bridge is completely jammed at rush hour causing major congestion.

The Yellow Line Expressway

The 21 km ‘Yellow Line’ expressway was opened in 1997 and connects Barra da Tijuca in the West Zone with Rio’s North Zone and the international airport.

10 | P a g e

It is a toll road, as Rio’s authorities did not have enough money to cover the cost of building it. Seventy thousand vehicles use the road each day, thirteen thousand more than expected. So far the road has been successful in removing around forty per cent of traffic from local roads in the area.

Public transport in Rio de Janeiro Bus Rio’s main form of public transport is the bus. These always run more frequently during rush hour. There are almost four hundred and forty municipal bus lines serving over four million passengers each day, in addition to intercity lines.

Brazil's public transportation service has been a target of many critics and sparked the 2013 protests that started in São Paulo and spread through the entire country. People were unhappy with the fare increases considering the low quality of service available. City buses are reasonably cheap, with air conditioned buses costing more than non-air conditioned buses. The system is relatively safe by day but less so at night.

TransOeste Bus In preparation for the 2016 Olympics, the first of four (BRT) corridors was opened in June 2012. Called , this first 32 km BRT corridor links the neighbourhoods of Santa Cruz and Barra da Tijuca. It has cut travel times between these two neighbourhoods by 50 per cent.

Another three BRT corridors will be opened by 2016. These will connect Rio’s most populous regions.The project is part of a green initiative for sustainable transport that will use new buses operating on ninety percent compressed natural gas.

Subway and urban trains Rio de Janeiro has two subway lines spanning over 26 miles with 35 stations and several lines. Future plans include a third line to Barra da Tijuca and Zona Oeste, as well as the expansion of Line One. An additional line, (blue line), is planned to be completed by 2016.

The Metro is Rio's safest and cleanest form of public transport. Subway cars can be overcrowded, but the metro is a cheap and fast way to commute.

Santa Teresa Rio de Janeiro has the oldest operating electric tramway in Brazil and South America, now mainly used by tourists and less by daily commuters. or bondinho, has been preserved both as a piece of history and as a quick, fun, cheap way of getting around.

Bicycles

There are over ninety miles of bicycle paths in the city, mainly along the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Flamengo and Lelbon, as well as a path circling Lagoa. An additional ninety miles of path are planned to be finished for this year. ‘Bike Rio’ began operations in October 2011. This bicycle sharing system is sponsored by the municipal government of Rio de Janeiro in partnership with Banco Itaú.

11 | P a g e

The system has 600 bicycles available at 60 rental stations located in 14 neighbourhoods throughout the city.

Housing problems in developing countries There are housing problems in developing countries, mainly due to rapid population growth. These include unplanned housing (squatter settlements/shanty towns), dealing with urban waste, pollution and stress on the infrastructure and the city's services.

Rapid urbanisation in developing countries is causing many problems. Many new migrants to cities in developing countries cannot afford housing. They are forced to build temporary accommodation in spontaneous settlements.

These settlements are commonly known as 'shanty towns'. They are also called favelas (Brazil) or bustees (India).

Three main features of a shanty town are:

 houses are made from scrap materials such as wood and metal sheeting  often housing does not have services such as sanitation, water or electricity  the settlements are usually very overcrowded

Developing country case study - Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is one of Brazil's largest settlements with a population of approximately 6.7 million people. Natural increase is one cause of increased population, but migration is the major factor. 65 per cent of urban growth is a result of migration. Millions of people have migrated from Brazil's rural areas to the city.

The rapid growth of Rio de Janeiro's population has led to severe crowding and a shortage of housing. The city cannot grow because of physical factors - there are mountains to the north and west, and sea to the south and east. Housing areas of Rio are highly segregated.

High class residential areas are found next to the CBD and along beaches of areas such as Copacabana. Apartments are very exclusive and cater for the wealthy workers of the CBD. Many of these high rise apartments have 24 hour security and armed guards. Residents are fearful of the risk of violence, theft, mugging, abductions and vandalism due to the high levels of unemployment and poverty in the city. Middle level residential areas have developed near the airport and highways. Poor people live inland, far from the CBD and transport networks.

Squatter campsHundreds of immigrants arrive in Rio each day. Many come looking for work and a better life than that available in rural Brazil. They often squat on unused, often unsafe land called squatter camps.

Here new arrivals to the city build their own houses out of basic materials such as tarpaulin, scrap wood and corrugated iron. Squatter camps are located on areas of land which the population neither

12 | P a g e

own nor rent. These settlements are illegal and are therefore not catered for by the government. Therefore there is no electricity, no rubbish collection, no schools and no hospitals.

The houses in these settlements have no basic amenities such as running water or toilets so there are high incidences of diseases such as cholera and dysentery.

As squatter camps become established they may grow into larger favelas.

Rocinha favela in Rio

Favelas are found on the edges of Rio, close to industry where people look for work. Many are in the steep hills around the city as it is the only available land to build on within the city limits. Rocinha is the largest favela in Brazil. It is located in the southern zone of the city. It is built on a steep hillside overlooking the city, just one km from the beach. It is home to between 60,000 to 150,000 people.

Favelas like Rocinha usually offer better standards of living than squatter camps as they have been improved over time. Standpipes provide running water. Unpaved roads are usually present and there may be some shared toilets available. Some residents may have used skills to earn money. Some use their homes as shops, or to provide services such as hairdressers. Although these favelas have been improved, they still have many of the same problems as the squatter camps such as overcrowding, disease and extreme poverty.

In Rio, more than 1.2 million people live in the favelas on less than £1 per day. The residents lack access to the most basic public services, such as health care, education, and space for recreation. Infant mortality rates are high in favelas, 50 per 1000 compared to a national rate of 15 per 1000.

There are high incidences of malnutrition, diarrhoea and other diseases. Organised crime and gang violence are also common. Unemployment rates are high and many people work in the informal, poorly paid sector.

Improving the favelas

In Brazil, as in many developing countries, local communities, charities and government departments are working together to improve conditions in favelas. Improving conditions can lead to improvements in the residents’ quality of life.

The government ultimately want to improve existing shanty towns but do not want to encourage more to develop, however, the favelas are eyesores and portray a poor image of the city.

13 | P a g e

Approaches to improvement Site and service schemes

These give people the chance to rent or buy a piece of land. The land is connected to the city by transport links and has access to essential services such as running water. People build their own homes using money from a low-interest loan. This has happened in Rocinha with the Bairro project.

In Rio, schemes like this are restricted by the steep surrounding mountains. Occasional heavy rains can also lead to flooding, impeding development.

Self-help schemes

The authorities in Rio de Janeiro have set up self-help schemes in the favelas. People are given tools and training to improve their homes. Low-interest loans may be used to help people fund these changes. People may be given legal ownership of the land they live on.

The local authority sometimes provides residents with materials to construct permanent accommodation. Residents provide the labour. The money saved on labour can be spent on providing basic amenities such as electricity and water. Other facilities like schools, health clinics and recreational areas are also provided.

In some schemes residents buy the houses or pay rent. This means those who are unemployed or on very low pay do not benefit.

Today, almost all the houses in Rocinha are made from concrete and brick. Most have basic sanitation, plumbing, and electricity. Compared to other favelas, Rocinha has a better developed infrastructure, including bus links, and hundreds of businesses such as banks, drug stores, cable television, and even its own locally based channel, TV ROC.

These schemes have cost the government in excess of £200 million.

Rural investment Funding development and improvements to rural areas may help to improve conditions in the city as well. Improving the quality of life and creating greater opportunities in rural areas may prevent people from migrating to urban areas.

Pacification Authorities are attempting to transform favelas through a city-wide policy called ‘pacification’.

Stage one - Armed police units, backed by soldiers and marines, go into favelas to drive out criminal gangs. Permanent police presences are established in what had often been no-go areas for security officials.

14 | P a g e

Stage two - With the shanty town secured, staff from Rio's municipal authority can start to provide social services such as schools, healthcare centres, and rubbish collection. Complexo do Alemao

With a population of 100,000 people, stretching for more than two miles, the Complexo do Alemao favela is one of the largest favelas in Brazil.

Teleferico do Alemao cable car

Pacification began at the end of 2010, with 300 police officers and troops entering the favela, with tanks and helicopters. They met little resistance, as gang members chose to flee rather than fight. Opened in 2011, the Teleferico do Alemao cable car system is the most obvious outward example of how the lives of people in Complexo do Alemao have been transformed by pacification.

The cable cars enable residents to get from one end of the favela to the other in just sixteen minutes. To walk it would take two hours, and each local person gets a free return ticket every day. The system also connects to Rio's railway network, enabling the people of Complexo do Alemao to get quickly into the city centre, opening up the opportunity of better paid work than is locally available.

So far thirty of Rio's favelas, including many of the largest, have been pacified since 2008, benefiting a combined population of 400,000. This leaves 1.1 million people living in hundreds of other favelas across the city still to benefit from pacification.

15 | P a g e