Suchergebnisse

This paper describes the methodology of a longitudinal multi-generational study in the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio de Janeiro from 1968 to 2008. Major political transformations took place in Brazil during this interval: from dictatorship to 'opening' to democracy; major economic transformations from 'miracle' boom to hyperinflation and crisis, and to relative stability; and major policy changes from the removal of favelas to their upgrading and integration. However, despite the cumulative effects of these contextual changes, poverty programmes and community efforts, the favela population has continued to grow faster than the rest of the city and the number and size of the favelas has consistently increased over these decades.

The focus of this paper is the effect of contemporary globalization on poverty and inequality in cities of the 'global south'. Specifically it addresses the impact of globalization on marginalized communities—slums, squatter settlements and shantytowns—collectively called 'informal settlements'. This is a timely issue given that over the next 25 years virtually all of the population growth worldwide will be in the cities of developing countries largely concentrated in such settlements. The paper takes a critical look at current assumptions about globalization, urban poverty, and inequality, distinguishing between different constructs and aspects of globalization and separating causality from co-terminality. It questions how the informal sector would fare in the face of advanced capitalism and technological transformations, absent the global component. Using Brazil as an example the paper draws comparisons between the lives of the poor during the isolationist period of 'import substitution' and the military dictatorship and their current lives in the context of pervasive globalization of ideas, icons, and identities. The findings are based on a longitudinal panel study conducted in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro between 1968 and 2005, examining the changes over time, space and generations. The presumed effects of globalization on the lives of the urban poor, on the levels of inequality between them and the rest of the city and on public policy are thrown into question. The answers are sought in the people's perceptions of the impact of globalization on their lives, in the historic transformations of the country and city, and in the life history, survey data and open-ended interviews collected over this 35- year period.

This article is based on a four-generational study of residents in three squatter communities (favelas) in Rio de Janeiro from 1968 to 2003. It shows how the marginalization of the urban poor has deepened over the past thirty-five years through drug-related violence, the failure of democracy to deliver on its promise of voice for the disenfranchised, the stigma of place and race, the increase in unemployment, and the inability to translate educational gains into concomitant income or occupational gains. Despite significant improvements in consumption of collective urban services, household goods, and schooling, few have been successful enough to move into "good neighborhoods" or into professional jobs. Gang violence creates a pervasive sense of fear and diminishes the social capital of the communities. Despite the promise of the end of the dictatorship in 1984, favela residents feel they are more excluded. Yet they still have hope that their lives will improve in the future.

This article is based on a four-generational study of residents in three squatter communities (favelas) in Rio de Janeiro from 1968 to 2003. It shows how the marginalization of the urban poor has deepened over the past thirty-five years through drug-related violence, the failure of democracy to deliver on its promise of voice for the disenfranchised, the stigma of place and race, the increase in unemployment, and the inability to translate educational gains into concomitant income or occupational gains. Despite significant improvements in consumption of collective urban services, household goods, and schooling, few have been successful enough to move into "good neighborhoods" or into professional jobs. Gang violence creates a pervasive sense of fear and diminishes the social capital of the communities. Despite the promise of the end of the dictatorship in 1984, favela residents feel they are more excluded. Yet they still have hope that their lives will improve in the future. Tables, Figures, References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2006 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]

This article is based on a four-generational study of residents in three squatter communities (favelas) in Rio de Janeiro from 1968 to 2003. It shows how the marginalization of the urban poor has deepened over the past thirty-five years through drug-related violence, the failure of democracy to deliver on its promise of voice for the disenfranchised, the stigma of place and race, the increase in unemployment, and the inability to translate educational gains into concomitant income or occupational gains. Despite significant improvements in consumption of collective urban services, household goods, and schooling, few have been successful enough to move into "good neighborhoods" or into professional jobs. Gang violence creates a pervasive sense of fear and diminishes the social capital of the communities. Despite the promise of the end of the dictatorship in 1984, favela residents feel they are more excluded. Yet they still have hope that their lives will improve in the future.[Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2006 The American Academy of Political and Social Science.]

Both the theoretical concept and the social reality of marginality have been significantly transformed since the 1960s, but Helen Safa's final comment above, that "[the poor] remain an integral part of the nation," remains as true today as it was when I lived in Rio de Janeiro's favelas in 1968–69. As I argued in The Myth of Marginality, favela residents were tightly integrated into society, albeit in an extremely perverse and asymmetrical manner. They worked in the least desirable jobs, under the worst conditions for the lowest pay; participated in the political life of their communities and city (to the extent permitted within the dictatorship) to little or no benefit; and contributed to the cultural and social life of the city without recognition. Peter Ward's introductory summary above lays out the context and parameters of my earlier work. Now, thirty-five years later, I am engaged in an intensivere-study, interviewing the original study participants, their children, and grandchildren. As we have data on the parents of the original interviewees, this enables us to look at propositions of marginality over four generations.

"Prepared for Delivery at the Fifth National Meeting of the Latin American Studies Association, San Francisco, November 14-16, 1974." ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Mode of access: Internet.