An urban management system for the sustainable regeneration of the favela of Rocinha

By the middle of the current century, the world’s population is projected to grow exponentially, becoming one of the major concerns for low-income settlements in megacities of developing countries, where the vulnerable population is expected to grow even faster, in an environment with little urban regulation. The population growth will increase the demand for basic, and often still lacking, city services such as sanitation, healthcare, energy, transportation, waste management and public spaces. In developing countries, nevertheless, the promotion of urban technologies could reduce the environmental impact of cities development and of slums renovation, creating employment opportunities for locals and economic opportunities of investment. However, deploying this in slums is a complex and challenging task. This paper presents a project, based on a multidisciplinary and integrated design methodology for the sustainable regeneration of Rocinha, one of the largest favelas of Rio de Janeiro. It foresees the deployment of an urban management system (UMS) to manage and integrate several urban services including sanitation, energy, mobility, waste, food delivery and growing and the flows of information connected to them, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact while improving the quality of life of citizens. Each service required the development of a specific project that, empowered by the UMS, will allow the circulation of information between citizens, fostering ocial inclusion and raising awareness on the topic of city’s resource management.