Miro

NO MORE FAVELAS!

High-Level Project Summary

Climate changes can make people’s life very challenging. In this regard, the situation for who live in poor economic status becomes even more difficult. In Brazil, accordingly to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) more than 6% of the population dwell in the “favelas”, which is a definition for places occupied illegally without proper support by the public services, where people live in sub-human conditions. This corresponds to more than 11 million individuals. Brazil sits in the position of 12nd economy in the world today, with a GDP of USD 1.4 trillion, nothing can justify such neglect for human beings.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OqgV4a3P9NkQ-5r3ejyuxgm2F0iWyuSc/view?usp=sharing

Link to Final Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzWr-VvAwYGw7ffh8c5LkbNVJEzGY_0V/view?usp=sharing

Detailed Project Description

NASA SPACE APPS CHALLENGE 2021

Space for Change

Team MIRO

Climate changes can make people’s life very challenging. In this regard, the situation for who live in poor economic status becomes even more difficult. In Brazil, accordingly to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) more than 6% of the population dwell in the “favelas”, which is a definition for places occupied illegally without proper support by the public services, where people live in sub-human conditions. This corresponds to more than 11 million individuals. Brazil sits in the position of 12nd economy in the world today, with a GDP of USD 1.4 trillion, nothing can justify such neglect for human beings.

Life conditions in the favelas are similar to what rats experience in sewers. People don’t have access to sanitation system and drinkable water. This population grows everyday due to the inoperability and negligence from the public services and the society, polluting rivers, springs and deforesting permanent preservation areas, subsequently falling victim of landslides when the torrential rains come.

The favelas in Brazil became so immense that can be identified from space by satellites. When we study a satellite image, we can have a real notion of the size of this problem. The images look like cancers eating up the woods. Favelas can’t be tolerated anymore! Rivers pollution and deforestation can’t be tolerated anymore!

(Vila Esperança, seen by satellite, below the Padre Manoel da Nóbrega Highway (SP-55) and the Serra do Mar mountain range, showing the Imigrandes Highway (SP-160) in the lower left corner.

Image: Google Maps, 2012 (captured in 3/30/2012)

The proposal of this project is the creation of a guide defining minimal acceptable dwelling standards for human life which should be part of International Treaty so signatory countries will commit to take care of their population, vegetation, and rivers.

A sustainable construction architectural design will be elaborated for low cost and biodegradable housing for all population in the favelas, and distributed to all countries of the world as a reference to be followed, a goal to be achieved.

The project will include the construction of a model neighborhood, complete and sustainable with houses, surrounded by vegetation, with preservation of springs, drinkable water access, sewer network with 100% treatment for liquid and solid wastes, recycling station and garbage processing, public plantation, composter, one single house per family built using sustainable material, green school, supermarket, cultural center where children and the population are constantly oriented about environment preservation, courses about gardening and plantation care will be made available, along with hospital, library, landscaping and areas where children can play and be in contact with nature.

A pilot project will be built in São Paulo, aiming at Paraisópolis, one of the largest and most famous favelas in Brazil, in a joint effort of the private sector, population, City, Estate and Federal government and private construction companies..

Paraisópolis favela, São Paulo, Brazil. Image: Google Maps, 2021 (captured in 10/3/2021)

The image below shows a comparison captured by NASA from the Rio de Janeiro city, in a just 30 years interval. Initially the area was mainly forest since it was an environmental preservation zone. Later it was completely invaded by the favelas, which act as a training facility for crime organizations and a pole for criminalization and marginalization of people in the country.

Rio de Janeiro, September 19th, 1984 Rio de Janeiro, September 25th, 2015

(Images: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/88103/rio-de-janeiro-a-changing-city).

Due to this disordely occupation, the main rivers of São Paulo city, such as the Tietê River and the Pinheiros River, receive the waste and garbage of all this population, turning them into fetid, toxic environments. This photo from NASA Observatory shows the extension of the Tietê River and the size of the problem its pollution represents for our people.

(Images: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/146020/rivers-in-glint-southern-brazil , 10/3/2021)

With the 2020 Coronavirus pandemics this social challenge became even more apparent and even intensified. How could people wash their hands if they didn’t have clean water at home in the first place? How could they follow social isolation protocols if there were 10, 15 people from different families living in the same single room shed? If people barely have access to water and soap, how would they get alcohol to sanitize? Many social projects were started to help this part of the population, it was a real struggle! And we succeeded in minimizing a little the damage, with huge efforts and contribution from the community.

But with the Coronavirus pandemics, the fragility of this population before the environmental problems of the world showed up in an unprecedent way! It should be taken as an alert. Because with this event it became even clearer the fact that people in unfavorable life conditions suffer a noticeable heavier impact than the rest of the population, when facing disasters, emergencies and collapses.

Please refer to the map below. We can see that the Covid-19 infection cases in São Paulo city present higher numbers in the lower income neighborhoods.

Such result was also reflected in the racial aspect, considering that the highest death rates from Coronavirus in São Paulo estate was composed by afro descendants.

Source: Coronavírus - Dados Completos (seade.gov.br). Researched in 10/3/2021.

Source: Desigualdades Sociais por Cor ou Raça no Brasil | IBGE).

The signatory countries of this International Treaty should pay daily fine to a World Fund for Environmental Preservation in case they don’t follow the conditions agreed in the project, which will include a transition clause with goals to be achieved by these nations, such as rivers depolluting and construction of sustainable villages to relocate the homeless and the favelas populations.

The proposal in the second stage is to create an International Fund to supply the implementation of the “minimal house standard” in the world, receiving donations from the countries which don’t follow their rules. This investment will be used in environmental preservation programs all over the world.

Only by dedicating proper and dignified care to our children we will be able to build a better future for our planet. Brazil has too many children living in favelas and in the streets today. This is not acceptable!

Space Agency Data

Rivers in Glint, Southern Brazil (nasa.gov)

Rio de Janeiro: A Changing City (nasa.gov)

Hackathon Journey

My experience with my Space Apps Experience was amazing. I had the opportunity to share knowledge with other people and apply my information base. It is very moving and inspiring to see a team of people committed to doing their best to the planet. Likewise it is fantastic to have a place to share our ideas of how to make our planet a better place, simply getting it out of our minds and spreading it out to the world.