Sanitation and favelas: marks of spatial inequality in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Since the founding of the city of Rio de Janeiro, sanitation has been a crucial issue in theurbanization process. To this day, areas such as favelas face serious problems related to thisservice. The aim of this article is to analyze the worsening of spatial inequalities based on theproduction of space in Nova Holanda and the relationship between Rio de Janeiro's urban policiesand their effects on sanitation. In order to carry out this analysis, the first urban sanitation policiesin the city and their impact on the favelas will be reviewed, as well as current data on this servicein the Maré favelas. The conclusion is that sanitation is a fundamental demand for reducing urbanspatial inequalities and an emergency agenda in the face of the climate crisis we areexperiencing.