The future of urban planning may lie in Brazil's second-largest city: Rio de Janeiro. But it is not along the glittering waterfront of Ipanema, overlooked because it houses some of the most expensive real estate in Latin America. Nor is it in the city center, renovated for the 2016 Olympics and now the focus of a major urban revitalization plan. To glimpse the future of cities, one must pass by the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon to the Jardim Botânico neighborhood and then look up at the hills, where the immense neighborhood of Rocinha is perilously perched on the slopes.
The pace of urbanization worldwide has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Across the planet, the equivalent of a new London is built every seven weeks. This explosive growth consists primarily of “informal settlements.” In Brazil, they are called favelas. Rocinha is the largest of the many favelas dotting Rio de Janeiro's rugged terrain, housing between 100,000 and 200,000 residents, depending on which estimate you trust.
