ESF/N-AERUS International Workshop Leuven and Brussels, Belgium, 23-26 May 2001 COPING WITH INFORMALITY AND ILLEGALITY IN HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN DEVELOPING CITIES WORKSHOP PAPERS

Elizabeth Riley

A Portrait of 'Illegality and Informality': the favela of Pavão-Pavãozinho and the perceptions of its residents

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ABSTRACT

This paper explores the manifestations and meanings of illegality and informality within one squatter settlement or favela in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. That favela is Pavão-Pavãozinho, a settlement of around 10 thousand people occupying a steep hillside in the wealthy neighbourhood of Copacabana. The paper attempts to paint a complete portrait of all those issues or areas of activity within the settlement that may be termed illegal or informal, examining their characteristics and how the residents of the settlement perceive those issues and their informal or illegal status. The paper also describes the attempts of government to improve conditions within the settlement and their implications for informality and illegality within the favela. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages derived from illegality and informality, questioning who gains and who loses, the state or residents?

The paper is organised as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Pavão-Pavãozinho: the settlement and its residents
3. A portrait of illegality and informality in the settlement:
   • land tenure
   • public and private space
   • housing markets
   • commerce
   • utility services
   • drugs trade
4. Conclusions
5. Bibliography

N-AERUS: Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South
http://www.naerus.net