*I wonder what our world would look like *without* favelas. Maybe if the planet's population drops by half in the mid-22nd-century? No favela shantytowns any more, because even the poorest members of society will dwell in abandoned
Gothic ruins.
via @chris23
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11568243
(...)
"In the last two years, 13 of Rio's 1,000 or so favelas have seen a permanent police presence, known as the Police Pacification Units (UPP), which aim to drive out the drug traffickers that control the slums.
"By 2014, we'll take the UPP to all the communities in the state that are still controlled by criminals," Rio de Janeiro Governor Sergio Cabral said.
"Some in the Rio favelas are already trying to promote tourism off their own back
"It is a new moment for Rio that will give visitors the freedom to get to know the city better."
"In August, Rio's tourism ministry launched a programme in the Santa Marta favela - the first slum to become part of the UPP project - to train residents to become tour guides.
"Since the creation of the Rio Top Tour project, the favela once ruled by the city's largest drug gang known as Comando Vermelho (Red Command) has become a tourism hub, with 4,500 visitors in the programme's first month. (((I wonder how they managed this while narcotics are still illegal. I find it hard to believe that the consumers who were financing all this armed favela mayhem have somehow stopped using drugs. Where did the money and the dealers go?)))
"Street signs in English have been placed throughout the community, and there are now 30 different tourist attractions, including a samba school, a local art gallery, and the spot where the Michael Jackson music video, They Don't Care About Us, was filmed.
"Before the UPP came in, Santa Marta was dangerous," says Daniella Greco, who volunteers in the favelas and works with a tourism company.
"The community is happy to have the tourists there - when you had [drug] trafficking, tourism didn't happen."
'Pacified'
"Rio Top Tour is due to be extended to other favelas before the World Cup comes to Rio, although some have already used their own initiative to promote tourism....
