Intra-urban Differentials in Rio de Janeiro: Contribution to the Achievement of Millennium Goal 11

Abstract

This study was conducted by the Pereira Passos Municipal Institute of Urbanism (IPP) of the City of Rio de Janeiro for UN-Habitat, with the aim of testing methodologies based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to identify intra-urban socioeconomic differences in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The goal was to define informal settlements targeted by Millennium Goal 11 of the UN Millennium Declaration, which aims to substantially improve the living conditions of residents in these settlements by 2020. To achieve this, a Social Development Index (SDI) was created, incorporating eleven indicators, built with data from the 8,048 census sectors that divide the city. These indicators included information on housing density, basic sanitation, housing quality, as well as residents' income and education levels. By using the index in conjunction with GIS tools, based on the city's cartographic base and digital orthophotos, it was possible to better qualify informal settlements, highlighting their differences in terms of living conditions. The study confirmed 605 already-registered favelas, which had not yet benefited from municipal programs, as the main target for the Millennium Goal, and identified 282 subdivisions (31% of the total) with a low SDI, making them eligible as well. Together, they account for about 215,000 households, or 12% of the total residences in the municipality. Furthermore, this methodology allows for more detailed prioritization of the city's actions, which have been urbanizing and regularizing informal settlements for over 10 years through the FavelaBairro program.