Brazilian favelas grew and occupied an area of 92.3 thousand hectares over the last 40 years, according to the Annual Mapping of Urbanized Areas in Brazil by MapBiomas, released this Wednesday (4).
According to the study, favelas nearly tripled in size over four decades, becoming 2.75 times larger, while cities in general grew 2.5 times.
The increase was observed between 1985 and 2024, when the urban area of favelas jumped from 53.7 thousand hectares to 146 thousand hectares.
Manaus was the Brazilian city where favelas grew the most in extent compared to other urban territories during this period. The area occupied by favelas in the Amazonian capital increased 2.6 times.
The study also revealed that the growth dynamics of favelas was more intense in the country’s metropolitan regions, which in 2024 housed 82% of the urbanized areas in favelas.
The geographer and coordinator of MapBiomas, Júlio Pedrassoli, considers that the faster growth of favela areas compared to the national average and their strong concentration in metropolitan regions suggest a known and worrying trend.
“Metropolises concentrate a lot of wealth, but also intensify structural problems. In the face of ongoing climate changes, an alert signal is lit,” reinforces Pedrassoli.
The metropolitan regions that house the largest urbanized areas in favelas are those of São Paulo (SP), Manaus (AM) and Belém (PA), with territories of 11.8 thousand hectares, 11.4 thousand hectares and 11.3 thousand hectares, respectively.
In the breakdown by favela, the Federal District houses those that grew the most in the period between 1985 and 2024. This growth positioned the Sol Nascente and 26 de Setembro favelas in first and second place as the largest favelas in Brazil, with 599 hectares and 577 hectares.
Water security
Brazilian cities also occupied more areas threatened by water availability for supplying populations in recent years.
According to the researchers, 25% of the natural areas that were urbanized are located where the water supply capacity is critical. These areas total about 167.5 thousand hectares.
In total, this amount includes territories in 1,325 Brazilian municipalities, with the city of Rio de Janeiro concentrating the largest urbanized area in minimum water security conditions.
In the Fluminense capital, 7.6 thousand more hectares were urbanized in areas under these conditions over 40 years.
“There is a mismatch between city growth and water availability. The fact that 1,325 municipalities have expanded their urban footprint under these conditions reveals that the problem is structural and national. It is not just a matter of risk,” concludes Pedrassoli.
Source: Agência Brasil