Intra-metropolitan inequalities in Rio de Janeiro and the Guanabara Bay cleaning programme

This paper investigates the impacts of the Guanabara Bay Cleaning Programme (GBCP) on the Rio de Janeiro urban development process. Based on the magnitude of the budget of the programme (HOW MUCH?) and its relevance to the improvement of the life quality of urban dwellers, the main discussion of this paper focuses on the role of GBCP in the context of the Rio de Janeiro urban trends and intra-metropolitan inequality dynamics. In studying the impact of the GBCP, we present: (a) a description of the GBCP intervention process and its goals, (b) a spatial analysis of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area defining patterns according to social, infrastructural and landscape/geographical data and its development from 1990 and from 2000, (c) a correlation between the historic evolution of these paterns from 1990 and from 2000 and the Guanabara Bay Cleaning Programme where the main goal is to understand the role of the GBCP implementation in the spatial distribution of these patterns throughout these 10 years. The conclusion builds on an analysis of the GBCP role in the current urban development process of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area, identifying its influences on the dynamics of intra-metropolitan inequalities of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. It can be affirmed that the GBCP plays an important role in expanding the existing infrastructure (such as sewage, water supply and garbage collection) of low-income areas in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan area, but on the other hand several management and implementation problems counteract its positive impact and contribute to reaffirm the current spatial segregated pattern.