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FavelaFavela is a term commonly used in Brazil to describe areas such as shanty towns or slums. The term 'favela' was coined after the Morro de Favela hillside in Rio de Janeiro, where freed slaves first established a squatter community in the 1890s. A favela is fundamentally different from a slum or tenement, primarily in terms of how they start, why they start and where they are. However, as Brazil contains a large number of impoverished areas, the word favela is often used to mean any of these types of places. Shanty towns are units of irregular self-constructed housing built on terrain seized and occupied illegally, usually on lands belonging to third parties, and most often located in the urban periphery. Residences are built without a license and with little or no sanitation. Favelas are often characterized by an almost total absence of numbered streets, sanitation networks, electricity, telephone service, or plumbing. These areas of irregular and poor quality housing are often crowded onto hillsides. Accidents, mainly caused by heavy rainfall, are frequent in such areas. Favelas are often troubled by drug-related crime and gang warfare: There are rumors that common social codes in favelas forbid residents from engaging in criminal activity while inside their own favela. Favelas are often considered a disgrace to the country they exist in. The first favelas were founded in the late 1890s by freed slaves who were forced to serve in the army and then denied places to live when they returned to the (then) capital of Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. During Brazil's rural exodus period in the 1960s, many people from the rural areas came to Rio looking for work. When these immigrants found that they could not sustain a decent quality of life in the developed cities, even with a permanent job, they were forced to live in the favelas. The number of favelas tripled and the number of people living as squatters in Rio de Janeiro rose almost 500 percent. People that live in favelas, known as "favelados", are often very poor, with many living below the poverty line and on less than US$100 per month. Brazil's favelas can be seen as a consequence of the highly disparate distribution of wealth in the country. The most famous favelas are those in and around Rio de Janeiro, where they provide a sharp juxtaposition of poverty and wealth when considered side-by-side with the luxurious apartment buildings and mansions of Rio's elite. Almost all of the hills in Rio are plastered with favelas. In 2004, it has been estimated that 30% of Rios population lives inside a favela. So Paulo also has a large number of favelas. The 2002 film City of God placed a spotlight on favelas, chronicling the cycle of poverty, violence, and despair in a Rio de Janeiro slum. See Also External links
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