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

A revealing study of the giant squatter settlements of Rio de Janeiro and of the vibrant communities of migrants who have risked everything to come to the city to provide more opportunities for their children,Favelaoffers a powerful look at one of the great challenges facing the modern world.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. Preface1: Deep Roots in Shallow Soil2: Favela Chic, Favela Chique3: Returning to RioFour Decades, Three Communities4: Catacumba5: Nova Brasilia6: Duque de Caxias: 3 favelas, 5 loteamentos7: The World Goes to the City8: The Metamorphosis of Marginality9: The Meanings of Mobility10: Disillusionment with DemocracyJanice Perlmanis President and Founder of the Mega-Cities Project. She is also the author of The Myth of Marginality: Urban Poverty and Politics in Rio de Janeiro, whiclCQ