Study of slums in porto alegre Essay

Introduction

The United Nations Human Settlement Programme ( UNSHP ) ( 2003 ) identifies urban growing and lodging as arguably some of the greatest challenges the universe faces now and in the hereafter. The study besides suggests that these challenges have links to planetary jobs such as diseases, poorness, hapless substructure and societal frailties.

Slums ( favelas ) are prevailing in the underdeveloped universe and are characterised by these planetary jobs ( UN Habitat, 2003 ) . They are frequently located in “precarious” countries with high population denseness ( Werlin H. , 1999 ) . The UNHSP ( 2003 ) study indicates favelas provide lodging and shelter for a big population of the universe. Similarly, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO ( 2010 ) remarked that one tierce of urban inhabitants globally, live in favelas ( www.who.int.dg/speeches/2010/ )

The growing of favelas in Porto Alegre and other metropoliss in Brazil has led to suggestions of deteriorating human wellness conditions within the population and later calls to reexamine bing lodging policies ( Piccinini, 2010 ) . Some common wellness jobs and diseases in Porto Alegre favelas include: Tuberculosis, STDs, HIV, drug dependence, and mental and behavioral unwellnesss ( Piccinini, 2010 ) .

Need FOR RESEARCH

In 1990, there was an action programme in Sao Paolo, Brazil aimed at bettering the lives of 41,000 households that live in favelas. A similar action program for the upgrading of favelas was developed in 2003, aiming a population of 52,000 ( UNHSP, 2003 ) . However, the UNHSP observed that the impact of these programmes was hard to determine since the attempts were non adequately evaluated. It besides noted that favelas destruction exercisings and urban upgrading programmes aimed at cut downing wellness jeopardies “have non proven wholly successful” ( UN Habitat, 2003 pp. 75 ) .

The impairment of the wellness of a population has been linked to lodging in several surveies. For illustration, the WHO ( 2005 ) argues that unequal lodging has a important consequence on human wellness. Housing in this context comprises societal factors, physical environment and substructure. Besides, Harpham and Tanner ( 1995 ) contend that impairment in the wellness of a population is at hand without equal model to ease or pull off activities such as proviso H2O and solid waste disposal.

This established relationship necessitates surveies in synthesising specific wellness and lodging parametric quantities in understanding how diseases are transmitted or acquired in favelas. Besides it becomes pertinent to develop intercession schemes ( via substructure and technology design with societal integrating ) to positively pull off the health-housing relationship.

Surveies by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme ( 2003 ) emphasise that lodging policies need to concentrate on bettering the wellness and support of favelas inhabitants and this is best done through better lodging substructure and environmental conditions. Consequently, the lodging conditions in favelas demand the constitution and execution of effectual policies and programmes driven by empirical grounds ( Fiori, 2009 ; UN Habitat, 2003 ; Piccinini, 2010 ) .

Therefore, one can reason that sufficient analysis of the complexness in housing-health relationships in favelas will back up the development of a model which highlights the jobs systemically and later enhances technology design. Consequently, effectual policies for lodging in favelas shall be established upon this model. This research shall concentrate on apprehension and turn toing the challenge of favelas from a health-housing position with a position of work outing wellness jobs in them.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Cardinal words: Health, diseases, lodging, urban substructure, lodging policies, slums, favelas

Most effectual hunt tools used: Google bookman, UCL Library catalogue

Favelas are globally classified as “very important” countries because they provide basic shelter for a notably big population despite its unequal encouraging urban substructure and exposure of its inhabitants to disease eruptions ( WHO 2005 ; UN Habitat 2003 ) . Conde L.P. and Magalhaes S. ( 2004 ) recognize the national importance of favelas in the context of the control of epidemic and public hygiene. Correlating different positions, Tim Di Muzio ( 2008 ) argues that favelas have a “bio-political” importance which attracts involvement from non-governmental administrations every bit good as the authorities.

In a similar survey in Brazil, it was found that the figure of favela colonies in Rio De Janeiro increased from 573 in 1994 to 608 in 1997 ( Conde L. and Magalhaes S. , 2004 ) . This survey entitled titled “Favela-Bairro” ( slum-to-neighbourhood programme ) identifies uneffective or deficiency of authorities policy as a major factor responsible for the growing of favelas in Brazil ‘s major metropoliss. A recent Favela-Bairro programme now focuses on consistently incorporating favelas into standard metropoliss ( Conde L. and Magalhaes S. 2004 ) . This plan is consistent with the UN Habitat 2003 study which adjudged that the straight-out clearance of slums to extinguish wellness jeopardies had non significantly proven advantageous. Howden-Chapman ( in WHO, 2005 ) argues that re-housing could better the wellness of favela inhabitants. However, Thomson H. ( in WHO 2005 ) , contends that lodging betterment may hold both positive and negative impacts on wellness and support.

Unger and Riley ( 2007 ) reckon that favelas represent a important change of human wellness and the physical and societal environment. Therefore, the outgrowth and growing of favelas can be linked to hapless wellness within a specific population sample ( Vlahov, 2007 ) .

Records on health-housing relationships day of the month as far back as 1903 in Brazil following a healthful proposal by Pereirra Passos to clean or pulverize houses as a step of controling the spread of diseases among other factors ( Piccinini, 2010 ; Conde L. and Magalhaes S. , 2004 ) . Marquette B. , every bit early as 1940 demonstrates that lodging comprises non merely the infrastructural model, design or agreement of edifices but besides consists of a socio-spatial integrating that enhances good wellness. Therefore, within lodging, populating conditions that determine wellness include chiefly population composing, societal support system and physical environment ( Vlahov, 2007 ) . Marquette went farther to explicate a qualitative scientific relationship between lodging and diseases by placing bad environment and bad lodging as “predisposing factors” to disease transmittal.

In a more recent survey utilizing patterning attacks, multivariate analysis and GIS, the eruption of Leptospirosis in Brazil was linked to hapless sanitation substructure. Open cloacas and hapless floodwater drainage system were preponderantly distinguished as hazard factors responsible for the disease eruption ( Ribeiro 2008 ) .

While the UNHSP ( 2003 ) lineations carelessness, eviction, in situ ascent, relocation and enabling policies as planetary attacks to favelas at degrees, it recognises the demand to follow any attacks based on extended surveies and strong grounds. Identifying these parametric quantities in theoretical accounts, specifying their interactions in dynamic systems and quantifying necessary variables in the system will help policy formation and intercession schemes based on a deeper apprehension of the job ( Eisenborg et al 2007, Spear et Al 2002, Patz et al 2004 ) .

Research OBJECTIVES

1. To set up the relationship between lodging, urban substructure and acquired and transmitted diseases and in Porto Alegre utilizing conceptual systems diagrams.
2. Determine physical parametric quantities responsible for disease in Porto Alegre Favelas and construct a instance to place the chief parametric quantities within the instance survey
3. To develop a methodological analysis for measuring, appraisal and synthesis of these parametric quantities.
4. Investigate intercession scheme and effectivity and suggestion technology solutions to ascertained infrastructural jobs

Methodology

Designation of health-housing parameters/indicators

From literature, old accredited surveies and experience, I have chosen these quantitative and qualitative parametric quantities for this research:

S/N INDICATOR* Nominal Ordinal Scale Interval

1. Access to H2O
2. Room size
3. Housing unit dad. Density
4. Sanitation system
5. Ventilation
6. Literacy degree
7. Employment rate
8. Solid waste disposal system
9. Household H2O connexions
10. Proximity to route
11. Population denseness in favela

( Source UNHSP, 2003 ) *

Besides the undermentioned parametric quantities shall be considered:

1. House layout and size ( Bonnefoy et al 2003 )
2. Air quality ( Bonnefoy et al 2003 )
3. Drain ( Vlahov et al 2007 )
4. Temperature ( Bonnefoy et al 2003 )
5. Type of Building Material ( Bonnefoy et al 2003 )
6. Physical environment ( Vlahov et al 2007 )

Datas on these indicators/parameters will be provided by Dr Livia Piccinini who is working with us on this undertaking and occupant in Brazil. Besides, engagement by favela occupants will be encouraged to in order to allow better and dependable informations aggregation and besides bridge the spread between contrivers, applied scientists and policy shapers ( Huchzermeyer, 2004 ) .

Choice of a strategic country within the favelas

I propose the choice of a few lodging units within the favelas for trying. However, the mention shall be made to the full favela sing urban substructure, with sensible premises which will be developed in the class of informations acquisition and analysis. The lodging units selected shall be assessed based on the indexs listed. A map shall be used as one of the tools in make up one’s minding what country ( s ) should be selected for survey. The other tools may include physical observation and interviews ( with favela inhabitants ) .

Determining the magnitude and causal web of wellness jobs

A preliminary survey shall see the different types of diseases common in the instance survey. Three diseases ( at least one catching and one acquired ) with the highest frequences within the population shall be selected. A more elaborate survey shall concentrate on measuring the likely disease tracts utilizing flow diagrams in order to find the function ( if any ) of lodging on the tract. This attack will differ from that used by Eisenberg et Al. ( 2008 ) in that it is pathogen based.

As an alternate attack, infrastructural and societal hazard factors can be identified for the selected diseases. Such an appraisal will see the potency of a disease happening as a map of the substructure and the environment.

Developing a model

I shall follow a system kineticss theoretical account to research the relationship between wellness and lodging. This shall affect preparation of causal loop diagrams with feedback ( SEM Notes, 2009 ) . The boundary of the theoretical account will be determined by the available parametric quantities. Parameter values shall be applied more straight in the instance of quantitative informations. Statistical package ( SPSS ) shall be used in the analysis. Several premises may be made in synthesising these parametric quantities, therefore the model will be developed taking into full consideration the demand to prove premises and the behavior of the model ( Albin S. in Forrester J. , 2002 ) .

CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS ENVISAGED

1. Pull offing so much informations in some instances and unavailability/inadequacy of some other informations.
2. Synthesizing changing quantitative and qualitative information. The system dynamics theoretical accounts will hopefully turn to this challenge. However, I need to larn more modeling techniques.
3. Trouble in research boundary definition due to multidisciplinary and multidimensional facets of the research. However, I hope utilizing a Systems Thinking attack will do this challenge easier.

Mentions

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