Collective heritage and urban politics: an uncertain future for the living culture of Rio de Janeiro?

Abstract

ABSTRACTDuring the last decades, significant urban transformations in Rio de Janeiro led to rapid structural changes in the historic core of the city and the favelas. The following population removals, evictions and physical destruction of neighbourhoods resulted in diverse local and national forms of protest and resistance, which were widely reported in the media. But what of the cultural heritage attached to the displaced people and the disrupted places? Our research focusses on the collective nature of this cultural heritage. We argue that the current dominant political and planning decisions cannot accommodate the city’s living cultural heritage which relies on everyday human activities and draws on collective social practices, everyday knowledge and rituals of social life. To support our arguments, we conducted an analysis of Rio’s collective heritage with regard to urban politics using the case study of two favelas, Vila Autódromo and Morro da Providência, which have been severely affected by urban transformations during the planning of the mega-events of 2014 and 2016. Our results reveal that urban transformations cause undue stress on the collective heritage of these communities. They also highlight the potential of using collective heritage in participation processes in urban development projects as an insurgent factor.