Tag: Sustainable Communities

The Rio de Janeiro Municipal Secretariat of Housing (SMH) made respect for the environment a core principle of its interventions in the "favelas" (slums) of the City. To further promote this principle, SMH is piloting a "green" ("Verde") approach to the Morar Carioca program in the South Zone favelas of Babilônia and Chapéu Mangueira. With "Verde," SMH has sought to incorporate sustainability into each step of the project.

Rio de Janeiro's entrepreneurial culture is helping the City build a greener economy. Meu Rio's "Meu Rio+20" will catalyze the development of green innovation projects and help democratize the City's culture of giving and community investment through participatory community decision making.

Municipal services, including infrastructure, education, and health, have not traditionally reached these favelas, as they have not traditionally been zoned as official parts of the City. However, the Morar Carioca Program, also called the Municipal Plan for the Integration of Informal Settlements, aims to provide integrated development and services through the Municipal Secretary of Housing (SMH) to incorporate these areas into the more formal communities that they generally border.

Certificates of Potential Additional Construction (CEPACs) are a method of leveraging private dollars to finance public investment in neighborhood revitalization through a process of rezoning and construction permit auctions. Through rezoning and the sale of CEPACs, the city raises the funds for upfront construction costs, long-term maintenance, and other priorities, such as historic or cultural preservation.