Cingapura project
Encyclopedia
The Cingapura project is a low-cost housing initiative in São Paulo, Brazil
. It is designed to try to move the poor population from favela
s (shanty towns), where one quarter of people in São Paulo now live, into more permanent structures. These structures are often called 'superblocks'.
They were intended to have a supply of electricity, a good water supply and sewer pipes. On top of this, residential security guards were to be employed to reduce crimes which were and are rife throughout the favelas in Brazil. Much of the work was to be done by the residents of the favelas themselves, the project being dubbed a 'self-help' project. The existing favelas were to be cleared and building materials provided for the builders for free. One of the major difficulties in building on the sites of the favelas was the large slopes on which they are built. This difficult terrain was the only reason the owners of the land did not use it. Levelling the land was very expensive and eventually proved too expensive; only a tenth of the proposed apartments were completed.
Some residents are not happy with the way the project has developed. Many of the towers were not completed, leaving a skyline of half-finished buildings and empty shacks. Some residents are very frustrated at the way the government have treated them. Many have moved away, or committed suicide.
Those that were built were not very successful, as many of the families from the favelas found that the new apartments were too much of a change of environment. They did not like the fact they couldn't extend on their new apartments, and many attempted to bring their livestock into the flats. Only 14,000 of the 140,000 projected apartments were actually built. Recently, a reported 6,000 apartments are likely to be built.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It is designed to try to move the poor population from favela
Favela
A favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 18th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos . This was the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
s (shanty towns), where one quarter of people in São Paulo now live, into more permanent structures. These structures are often called 'superblocks'.
They were intended to have a supply of electricity, a good water supply and sewer pipes. On top of this, residential security guards were to be employed to reduce crimes which were and are rife throughout the favelas in Brazil. Much of the work was to be done by the residents of the favelas themselves, the project being dubbed a 'self-help' project. The existing favelas were to be cleared and building materials provided for the builders for free. One of the major difficulties in building on the sites of the favelas was the large slopes on which they are built. This difficult terrain was the only reason the owners of the land did not use it. Levelling the land was very expensive and eventually proved too expensive; only a tenth of the proposed apartments were completed.
Some residents are not happy with the way the project has developed. Many of the towers were not completed, leaving a skyline of half-finished buildings and empty shacks. Some residents are very frustrated at the way the government have treated them. Many have moved away, or committed suicide.
Those that were built were not very successful, as many of the families from the favelas found that the new apartments were too much of a change of environment. They did not like the fact they couldn't extend on their new apartments, and many attempted to bring their livestock into the flats. Only 14,000 of the 140,000 projected apartments were actually built. Recently, a reported 6,000 apartments are likely to be built.
External links
- The first world is here by Elma-Lia Nascimento, 13 May 2005
- Pictures