Using 3D laser scanning technology, the Senseable City Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in collaboration with BRTech 3D and Washington Fajardo, Rio de Janeiro's Municipal Secretary of Urban Planning, is conducting a comprehensive morphological analysis of Rocinha, Brazil's largest favela, which has around 100,000 residents across 838,000 square meters and nearly 26,000 homes.
The 3D images created by the Favelas 4D project make it possible to record the dimensions, distances, and elevations of streets and buildings. This is achieved through aerial data collection by airplanes, combined with street-level surveys conducted by field technicians. Subsequently, laser scanning devices called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) generate mapping data, revealing patterns and the underlying logic of informality.
Located in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone, between Gávea and São Conrado—two of the neighborhoods with the highest property taxes in the city—the informal settlement contrasts with the urban landscape, laying bare deep inequalities. In Rocinha, schools, health centers, green spaces, and jobs are scarce. The community's population density is 48,258 inhabitants per square kilometer, nine times higher than Madrid, for example. Established in the late 1920s as a coffee farm, Rocinha was once considered the largest favela in Latin America.
The complexity of the favela hinders access for traditional mapping tools, such as satellite imagery and Google Street View, meaning the urban landscape cannot always be accurately mapped and interpreted. This "invisibility" has serious consequences, including unmet local needs and the violation of residents' urban rights. By accurately capturing the shape and organization of the informal settlement, Favelas 4D makes it easier to assess Rocinha's infrastructure needs and challenges, such as sanitation and safety, helping to address these issues, incorporate community demands, and guide local interventions and policies.
Via Urban Studies.
This article was written by Urban Studies. The translation is powered by AI.
