Favela Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro [Paperback]

Janice Perlman wrote the first in-depth account of life in the favelas, a book hailed as one of the most important works in global urban studies in the last 30 years. Now, inFavela, Perlman carries that story forward to the present. Re-interviewing many longtime favela residents whom she had first met in 1969--as well as their children and grandchildren--Perlman offers the only long-term perspective available on the favelados as they struggle for a better life.

Perlman discovers that while educational levels have risen, democracy has replaced dictatorship, and material conditions have improved, many residents feel more marginalized than ever. The greatest change is the explosion of drug and arms trade and the high incidence of fatal violence that has resulted. Yet the greatest challenge of all is job creation--decent work for decent pay. If unemployment and under-paid employment are not addressed, she argues, all other efforts will fail to resolve the fundamental issues.Foreign Affairspraises Perlman for writing with compassion, artistry, and intelligence, using stirring personal stories to illustrate larger points substantiated with statistical analysis.

Preface

1: Deep Roots in Shallow Soil
2: Favela Chic, Favela Chique
3: Returning to Rio

Four Decades, Three Communities

4: Catacumba
5: Nova Brasilia
6: Duque de Caxias: 3 favelas, 5 loteamentos

7: The World Goes to the City
8: The Metamorphosis of Marginality
9: The Meanings of Mobility
10: Disillusionment with Democracy

Perlman returned repeatedly to the famed slums of Rio de Janeiro to follow four generations of residents over 40 years. She writes with compassion, artistry, and intelligence, using stirring personal stories to illustrate larger points substantiated with statistical analysis. --Foreign Affairs

With a scope that betrays her passion for her subjects, Perlman easily oscillates between nlãÜ