Apropiación, uso y abandono de los espacios residuales provocados por el teleférico del Complexo do Alemão, Río de Janeiro

Abstract

The city of Rio de Janeiro is experiencing major urban restructuring processes in order to adapt the city to receive two mega sports events, the Soccer World Cup (in 2014) and the Olympic Games (in August 2106). Several of these interventions have been developed in low-income areas, especially in squatter settlements, on the grounds of safety and urban integration, and the Complexo do Alemao is one of them. A very important urban design and public program happened in the so-called Complexo do Alemao, a set of adjoining favelas. This article analyses the mobility structure of cable cars created in that area and the problems associated with it, particularly the residual spaces originated around the pillars that support the structure. Its organization consists of a general contextualization of the case and a specific observation of some of the mentioned areas. The observation process is based on regular field visits and interviews. The article is based on theories that examine the relationship between the formal and the informal city, where the interests of fractions of capital, especially of infrastructure and real estate, predominate over social concerns. Thus, approaches such as those of J. Jacobs, R. Sennett, J. Gehl, E. Kent, among others, become relevant and should be incorporated in proposals that intend to improve the quality of urban space and turn it into a place of exchange and collective participation. That will give a new meaning to these residual spaces in the favelas. The paper concludes that despite the conflicts and risks associated with this intervention, some positive potentials can also be verified, although unplanned and less visible, related to the residual spaces. It also concludes that government policies should assume and understand the spaces as a possibility for an alternative, more participatory and inclusive planning. Keywords: Complexo do Alemao, residual spaces, cable car.