Rio De Janeiro Metropolitan Region Research Articles

Food environment of bus terminals in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region.

To describe and analyze the healthiness of formal and informal food establishments in bus terminals of the metropolitan region of the state of Rio de Janeiro. An audit was conducted in 156 formal and 127 informal food establishments located in 14 bus terminals of the five most populous cities of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Proportions of types of establishments and means (95%CI) of food availability indicators in formal and informal settings were calculated. For the formal setting, prices, proportions of accepted payment methods, days and hours of operation, and food categories with displayed advertising were described. The healthiness of food establishments in bus terminals was low (less than 36%). On average, ultra-processed food subgroups were 250% more available for purchase than fresh or minimally processed food. Purchasing food at these places was convenient because several forms of payment were available, and the opening hours of the establishments followed the peaks of movement. In addition, 73.3% of the advertising referred to ultra-processed drinks, and the cost-benefit of buying ultra-processed food was better than fresh or minimally processed food. The food environment of bus terminals in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro promotes unhealthy eating. Regulatory public policies should focus on initiatives to limit the wide availability and advertising of ultra-processed food in spaces of great circulation of people.

Black Carbon and Particulate Matter Concentrations: Air Pollution Levels in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This research explores the concentration of black carbon (BC) in particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) from ten monitoring stations in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ), Bonsucesso (BS), Botafogo (BOT), Copacabana (COP), Gavea (GAV), Gericino (GER), Lagoa (LAG), Recreio dos Bandeirantes (REC), Santa Cruz (SC), Castelo (CAS) and Urca (URC), covering a range of pollution sources (vehicular, industrial, and residential). PM samples were collected using filter units every week from January 2018 to December 2019. Results revealed high concentrations of PM10 in BS (86 ± 22 µg m-3) and PM2.5 in REC (30 ± 11 µg m-3). Likewise, both monitoring stations exceeded the international limits. In 2019, BC in PM10 decreased in the following order: BS > CAS > GER > BOT > SC > GAV. For 2018, BC in PM2.5 decreased as follows REC > LAG > SC, while 2019 REC > GAV > LAG > COP > URC. REC and BS have industrial and commercial activities and intense vehicular traffic. During the period of study, average BC concentrations in PM10 and PM2.5 were 3.3 ± 1.5 and 1.9 ± 0.70 µg m-3, respectively. These findings indicate that BC concentrations should be monitored and regulated in locations with high levels of traffic-related air pollution for offering new insights and guiding efforts to minimize emissions and enhance public health.

Conservative turn, milícias, and elections

Brazil is currently experiencing a conservative turn, which has found expression not only in Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency (2019–2022) but also in the phenomenon of so-called milícias expanding in low-income neighborhoods as well as in the emergence of anti-social movements that identify themselves as right-wing and conservative. In this context, the paper uses the example of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region to discuss the relationship between (i) the emergence of conservative and far-right groups; (ii) the expansion of milícias in the city of Rio de Janeiro; and (iii) their influence on voting behavior in low-income, milícia-dominated neighborhoods in elections between 2018 and 2022. The forms of territorial control practiced by milícias, including information networks, disciplinary social control, mediation between individual and collective interests, and electoral control, have not yet received sufficient attention from authorities or in social analysis and research. A number of political organizations and alternative media are responsible for spreading antidemocratic values and practices. In doing so, they seek to legitimize the undercurrent conservative turn in the country and to weaken the links between urban experience and democracy.

Water Scarcity Risk Index: A Tool for Strategic Drought Risk Management

Drought events have affected many regions of the world, having negative economic, environmental and social impacts. When accompanied by increasing water demands, these events can lead to water scarcity. Since droughts can significantly vary in each geographic area, several indices have been developed around the world. Hazard indexes are commonly used to predict meteorological, agricultural and hydrological droughts. These indexes intend to predict hazards, but they do not provide information on when and where deficits can have negative consequences. This study presents a new planning and decision-support tool for monitoring water scarcity situations in a given region. This tool, called the Water Scarcity Risk Index (W-ScaRI), is formed by two subindices, which are proposed to describe a hazard and its consequences. Each subindex was constructed using a group of indicators and indices selected from the technical literature or originally proposed in this work. The W-ScaRI was applied to the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region (RJMR), supplied with water by the Guandu/Lajes/Acari system. The RJMR is one of the most densely populated regions in Brazil, located in an area that has no natural water bodies capable of meeting its supply needs. Therefore, the Guandu River, which, in fact, is formed by two discharge transpositions from the Paraíba do Sul River, is the main drinking water supply source for this region. The RJMR suffered the consequences of unexpected, prolonged droughts in the Southeast region in 2003 and 2014–2015, leading the local authorities to implement temporary emergency measures in the management system of Paraíba do Sul and Guandu Basins, avoiding water shortage but showing the urgent need for planning and management support tools to anticipate possible future problems. The results of the study show that the formulation of the W-ScaRI can represent the water scarcity risk in a relatively simple way and, at the same time, with adequate conceptual and methodological consistency.

Influence of the Spatial Distribution of Jobs in Intervening Opportunities Models

This article analyzes the influence of spatial distribution of jobs, which represents intervening opportunities, in aggregated and disaggregated trip distribution models that generated eight origin–destination matrices. The observed trip matrix was obtained from the Urban Transport Master Plan (PDTU) of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region in Brazil. The estimated matrices were calculated using the gravity, intervening opportunities and Naïve Bayes models, organized at two aggregation levels. These models’ performance was evaluated considering the aggregation level, the model approach adopted (aggregated or disaggregated), and the spatial distribution of the intervening opportunities. The results indicated that the intervening opportunities exert a positive influence on all models, under any level of zone size (subdistricts or neighborhoods). In the aggregate models, the variable “jobs” insertion improved the models’ performance when applied at a higher aggregation level (subdistricts). The best-case scenario showed a coefficient of determination (R2) equal to 0.8705, obtained in a disaggregated model with intervening opportunities applied in subdistricts.

Dinâmica e manutenção do serviço ecossistêmico de manutenção da purificação da água na Região Hidrográfica do Rio Guandu, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to develop a methodology for analyzing the dynamics and maintenance of the water purification ecosystem service in the water bodies of the Guandu River Hydrographic Region, responsible for water supplying the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, characterized by the presence of water transfers and low levels of effluent treatment. The dynamics of this service occurs through an ecosystem flow, influenced by the volume of water that moves from one region to another. The methodology consisted of reviewing studies of ecosystem flows, building a database, classifying impacts on water purification in hydrological planning units from a similarity dendrogram, analyzing indicators related to water demands and availability of these units, and developing an ecosystem flow diagram of water purification. The effects of transfers on the maintenance and flow of water purification were also analyzed from the comparison between the real scenario (which considers the presence of the existing hydraulic infrastructure) and the natural scenario (which disregards it). The results showed that the worst situation of maintenance of water purification is in the western part of the region, and the demands for it requires more than double the volume of withdrawn water to supply the local population and industry.

Enhancing conceptual and practical understandings of small-scale farming resilience in the metropolitan countryside of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rural-urban complexity can be seen across the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region where land use, and economic and environmental policies have generated conflicts. In this context, agriculture has become juxtaposed with other functions and interests, which has resulted in a mosaic of diversified land use. These rural-urban interactions also provide opportunities to develop different types of knowledge that allow communities to develop resilience in an environment of spatial changes. The aim of this article is to analyse rural change and farming resilience in the Eastern Rio Metropolis, based on primary research undertaken in 2017 and 2018. The results provide useful insights for understanding the nature of rural-urban interactions in a metropolitan countryside that could, in turn, inform policies for promoting local and regional quality food systems and small-scale farming strategies.

In, Out or Beyond? Waste Pickers and Policy Networks: A Story from Jardim Gramacho (Rio de Janeiro)

As circularity is momentous, waste-picker communities all around the world are getting noticed. Brazil is at the forefront of waste-picker community inclusion, recognizing, by law, waste-pickers as professionals who must be part of waste management. This level of institutionalization is the result of a political struggle within the national waste policy network over more than twenty years. Understanding these political relations is key to recognising the role of waste-pickers and making the case for justice in the circularity discourse and practices. This research presents the result of an extended case study of over seven years duration conducted by the author on the community of Jardim Gramacho, in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region. Building upon the policy network theory, this paper first maps the policy community and the issue network of waste governance. Second, through a thematic analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews, core themes are identified. These themes depict the waste-picker community beyond a paternalistic reading recognizing their agency and identifying a plurality of roles waste-pickers are playing in the waste policy community, among them the role of institutional stewards. In the conclusion, a research agenda is outlined, highlighting the need for transdisciplinarity in doing research with waste-pickers.

Distribution, population structure and settlement preference of Tubastraea spp. (Cnidaria: Scleractinia) on rocky shores of the Cagarras Islands Natural Monument and surroundings, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis are invasive corals that have well-established populations along the broad Brazilian coasta. Over a decade of field surveys (2010–2021) in the Cagarras Islands Natural Monument, a no-take Marine Protected Area (MPA), and surroundings in Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region, the colonization processes of Tubastraea spp. has been followed up. In 2019, Tubastraea spp. population structures were determined by photoquadrats on Comprida (CO) and Cagarra (CA) islands, where patches with the highest coral densities had been detected. In laboratory, Tubastraea spp. planulation was recorded and settlement bioassays were conducted on live crustose coralline algae Lithophyllum spp. (Rhodophyta) compared to respective controls (i.e. dead Lithophyllum spp. fragments). A total of 1908 colonies of Tubastraea spp. were recorded in the photoquadrats, of which T. tagusensis represented practically all colonies (T. coccinea had a single record); thus, the analyses considered the data set for the former. The mean colonies density was 636.0 ± ind.m−2, composed mainly by founder polyps, and the mean cover was similar for CO (9.3%) and CA (13.9%) islands. Most of the founder polyps settled on crustose coralline algae — CCA (63.0%), followed by CCA/Turf (24.4%). Higher incidence of founder polyps on CCA (Lithophyllum spp.) indicates the importance of this algal functional group for the recruitment and colonization of T. tagusensis. Planulation was similar for both species and planulae preferred to settle and metamorphose on live Lithophyllum spp. These results on coral–algae interactions will contribute to enhance control/ management actions of Tubastraea spp. on Brazilian rocky shores.

The Private Sector as a Partner for SDG 6-Related Issues in Megacities: Opportunities and Challenges in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This article reviews recent studies that address water sustainable management opportunities and challenges in megacities around the world, with an emphasis on the case of Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, one of the two megacities in Brazil. With reference to recent debates on water, megacities, and the climate crisis, as well as UN Water and Global Report Initiative documents, we focused on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All. The new Brazilian sanitation legal framework regulates public–private partnerships. In this context, the manuscript discusses the main question concerning water, sanitation, and hygiene that arises in the Brazilian case study: is universality possible in profit-oriented models? Through the current technical and academic literature consulted, the paper compares initiatives involving multiple stakeholder governance models that depend on private resources to implement universal access to drinking water, sanitation, and water-related extreme event controls, pointing out alternatives that can help to achieve the targets of SDG. Validation by key informants supports the synthesis of the reviewed documents, and the findings illustrate that concerted public efforts together with market mechanisms can help to overcome challenges and surpass the profit-oriented logics of private companies to achieve access to healthy and safe water, adequate sanitation, and improved hygiene, especially for vulnerable populations. This finding has transferability to other megacities in emerging countries that are facing public–private partnership debates on the provision of clean water and sanitation for all.

Location factors explaining the production of trips by car during sports megaevents: The 2013 Confederations Cup in Rio de Janeiro

The proliferation of megaevents in metropolises of developing countries, such as Rio de Janeiro-Brazil, increases the need for effective urban mobility planning, due to the restrictions on transportation infrastructure, which is unable to meet the needs of daily commuting. In this context, it is fundamental to formulate policies that discourage the use of private cars. Their effectiveness involves identifying the places with greater propensity to use this modality. This article analyzes the location factors and respective explanatory variables that are most influential in the process of production trips by car during sports megaevents hosted in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ). For this purpose, we analyzed the 2013 Confederations Cup, the games of which were played in Maracanã Stadium. Initially, it was performed a literature review to establish the variables commonly used in planning transportation systems. Then it was applied the logistic regression model to the selected locational variables, aiming to identify those that best explain the trips produced by car. The performance of models with a single variable and with combinations of variables was analyzed to identify the best one to explain the car trips produced. The variables related to income and quality of life are most significant to explain this kind of produced trips, along with the existence or absence of a high-capacity mass transit system (commuter train and/or subway). The results also confirm the spatial inequality in terms of supply of services and quality of life.

Precipitation Trends and Variability in River Basins in Urban Expansion Areas

River basins are important territorial units for geographical analysis, and are crucial for environmental planning, especially in metropolitan settings. The aim of this article was to evaluate rainfall trends and variability in the Guapimirim-Macacu basin, located in an urban development area in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region. Annual, monthly and daily records were collected from twenty rain gauge stations, for the period of 1967 to 2015. Analyses conducted using the RClimDex software revealed an increase in rainfall volume and number of wet days. The remaining indicators and patterns observed across stations also suggested that changes in precipitation trends occurred mostly on the day scale, and were likely attributable to global climate change. After controlling for seasonality and normalizing the series, a linear tendency between the mean monthly precipitation in the Guapimirim-Macau basin and sea surface temperature (SST), obtained from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction, revealed that rainfall in the region is strongly correlated with Pacific and Atlantic SST, revealing the importance of the South Atlantic Convergence Zone for rainfall variability in the area of study, especially in summer. These data are important for development planning and the management of water resources and supply in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region.

The spotted zebra: Cohabitation between informal solutions and public-owned infrastructures for water supply in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region

Abstract In many emerging and developing countries hybrid systems, not completely public nor private, have become a regrettable unstandardized ‘standard’ for water and sanitation service (WSS) provisions. These spotted zebras deserve the attention of both the scientific community and policymakers being ambiguous solutions. On the one hand, the hybrid systems allow broadening the access to the water supply service in face of the challenge to manage, maintain and adapt large infrastructures in a time of increasing climate change impacts, water-supply demand and drinking water scarcity. On the other hand, by embodying informal artefacts and unregulated behaviours to use natural resources, the hybrid systems enhance the vulnerability and precariousness of the population that is normally not reached by the formal public infrastructure. The paper presents findings of research conducted in Queimados, in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area. Our study suggests that grassroots solutions, albeit being an opportunity when integrated, represent a threat when standing alone, and it is critical to further discuss ways to promote such integration within a structured institutional public framework. Conclusions stress the need to rethink the grassroots engagement within socio-technical transition emphasizing the nexus between political culture, civic education and infrastructural solutions.

Evaluation of the impact of the national strike of the road freight transport sector on the air quality of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In May 2018, there was a road freight transport standstill in Brazil that lasted 11 days. During this period, several impacts on Rio de Janeiro’s daily life were reported, such as the reduction of road passenger transport services and lack of fuels. This study aimed to evaluate the impact on the air quality of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ) of the reduction of heavy-duty vehicles on the streets and roads. For this purpose, the reductions of PM10, NOx, SOx and CO emissions, due to low circulation of buses and trucks, were estimated in order to assess the levels of air pollution indirectly. Besides, air quality data (PM10, NO2, SO2, and CO) monitored before and during the strike were used. The results showed a reduction in total emissions of local air pollutants, harmful to human health from 22 % to 43 % during strike days. However, the air quality reflexes were not observed in the same proportion, on the contrary, increases were observed in pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere during traffic stoppage in the study areas, due to different weather conditions in the two periods, which directly influenced air pollutants dispersion.

Assessment of ambient aerosol sources in two important Atlantic Rain Forest hotspots in the surroundings of a megacity

Between 2010 and 2015, an assessment of ambient aerosol sources was carried in two unique fragments of the Atlantic Rain Forest in the surroundings of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ). Airborne particulate matter samples were collected at Serra dos Órgãos National Park (43°04′42.1″W and 22°29′16.9″S) and Mário Xavier National Forest (43°42′21.8″W and 22°43′21.7″S). At the former site, PM10 samples were collected, while at the latter TSP samples were collected due to a particular interest on the preservation of an endangered endemic species of tree frog (Physalaemus soaresi). Elemental composition, inorganic and organic water-soluble compounds were analyzed along with local meteorology variables in order to provide the most relevant variables for particulate matter prediction and its potential sources. For TSP, the main predictors were NO3− >Mn >Rad (Global radiation) >Ca2+ >Precipitation >Mg 2+. For PM 10, the main predictors were Gust (Gust wind speed) >NO 3− >Ca2+ >Zn >Cu >Ti. Furthermore, trends in the particulate matter were analyzed considering the prevailing winds and sources were evaluated whether intermittent or continuous, using the conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF). With the use of CBPF, recent developed machine learning algorithms (Conditional inference trees – CIT, and Random Forests using a conditional inference framework), and other standard data analysis techniques tuned for air quality exercises, we provide an example case for planning and evaluation of environmental risk assessment by stakeholders.

A framework to support flood prevention and mitigation in the landscape and urban planning process regarding water dynamics

The urbanization process heavily changes the natural landscape, increasing built areas and impervious rates, consequently aggravating floods and suffering from the co-related degradation. Recent initiatives regarding sustainable drainage and river restoration seek a compromise solution between cities and nature. In this context, this research examines a possible analytical framework for urban planning and design of flood control alternatives, using a multifunctional open space system that incorporates water dynamics into current and future urban solutions. This framework starts with a diagnosis of the current situation, analyzing three main aspects: urban floods and their consequences; urban plans and legal environmental constraints; and available open spaces and multifunctional opportunities. Then, a set of guidelines is proposed to articulate urban needs with environmental limits, intending to help in the design of urban flood control alternatives, while increasing environmental value and retrofitting urban vicinity. These guidelines include multi-scale solutions in the watershed context, using sustainable urban drainage concepts in multifunctional open spaces, which can also act as environmental connections and protective fluvial parks. Next, the current situation is taken as reference and a hydrodynamic mathematical model is used to map the behavior of possible scenarios developed to represent future conditions driven by the proposed guidelines. This proposal is applied in an exploratory case study in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region to validate the proposed premises. The obtained results show that a multifunctional open space system, supported by an orderly and sustainable land use, was able to reduce significantly the water levels in the main river, diminishing flooded areas and responding in a more resilient and less risky way.

Evaluation of the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of waters of the Paraíba do Sul River Basin - RJ through the Allium cepa test system

The public water supply of the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region is highly dependent on transposition from the Paraíba do Sul River: 70% of the water is diverted to the Piraí River and then passes through a series of other rivers and reservoirs, finally discharging in the Guandu River. During this path, the water is exposed to many sources of pollution. This makes the quality of the raw water that reaches the Guandu Treatment Station (WTS) highly vulnerable. This article reports the analysis of the cytogenotoxic potential of water samples collected at four different points along the Piraí River downstream from the transposition point, utilizing the Allium cepa test system. The samples were collected in two periods, the dry and wet seasons. The water at all four collection points presented some level of cytogenotoxicity, with the presence in the test cells of large nucleoli, multiple nucleoli, nuclear buds, lagging chromosomes, sticky chromosomes, karyorrhexis, cytoplasmic shrinkage and changes of the mitotic index. The samples collected during the dry season had a larger number of cells with alterations, indicating that the cytogenotoxic potential varies in function of the time of year, depending on the volume of contaminated effluents. The results obtained along with data from the Rio de Janeiro State Environmental Institute (INEA) for the same period reveal the importance of monitoring along with proper sanitation and sewage treatment, and that the presence of pollutants not only hampers water treatment, but also poses risks to organisms at different trophic levels, including humans.

Cumprimento dos requisitos da certificação FSC/CoC por indústrias moveleiras do Rio de Janeiro

O objetivo desse estudo foi analisar a capacidade das indústrias moveleiras da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, em atender aos requisitos das certificações de cadeia de custódia do Forest Council Stewardship (FSC). Os dados foram coletados através da aplicação de questionários contendo informações sobre a certificação florestal (administração participativa, capacitação dos funcionários, documentação legal da empresa, fornecedores certificados, rastreabilidade da matéria-prima e relatório de movimentação de certificação). Os questionários foram preenchidos durante visitas às empresas, respondidos pelo responsável do setor de projeto e produção. Os requisitos “disposição de licenças e outros documentos legais”, “disponibilidade de um responsável pelo processo de certificação de cadeia de custódia” e “capacitação de funcionários”, que necessitam de custos e que exigem procedimentos burocráticos para cumprimento, foram os que mais interferiram para que as empresas não obtivessem o certificado de cadeia de custódia. O requisito-chave “rastreabilidade da matéria-prima” não apresentou complexidade de cumprimento, visto que todas as indústrias afirmaram ter capacidade em atendê-lo. Em relação à norma de certificação de cadeia de custódia, a maioria das indústrias moveleiras da região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro consegue cumprir os requisitos exigidos.

A circular approach to the e-waste valorization through urban mining in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Electronic waste (e-waste or WEEE) is one of the most critical categories regarding the decision-making for waste management. Brazil is the second major e-waste producer in Americas, after USA, with 1.5 million tones generated annually. However, the absence of adequate system for e-waste reverse logistics are a reality in most of the Brazilian cities. Concerning this hypothesis, we proposed a scenario analysis to support decision-making in e-waste management. This study analyzed the e-waste amount generation, the location of the recycling companies of this segment and the collection routes in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ). Besides, we proposed a set of criteria and indicators to identify the best option for e-waste management. The analysis indicates that Rio de Janeiro is the biggest e-waste producer of the MRRJ, with an amount of approximately 127 ton/day, corresponding to 251 collection points, which represents a high discrepancy in relation to the other municipalities of MRRJ. The findings point out that indicators, such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI), could be used as an alternative for a more accurate analysis for a sustainable urban grid design. This study identified 24 e-waste recycling industries that services the current demand of the MRRJ, most of them concentrated in the central and south portions of the MRRJ, which coincide with the municipalities with the biggest e-waste generation rates. Some hotspots, however, are isolated from the recycling industries, as observed at the MRRJ extremes. In order to provide a better choice for e-waste reverse logistics routes, we proposed 12 indicators, in environmental, economic and social dimensions. Thirty-five hotspots were identified and divided in five main routes according to the recycling industries nearby and the local roads. Urban mining of e-waste seems to be an interesting alternative for secondary raw material recovery, especially in an emerging economy country like Brazil, that consumes huge amounts of electronic devices and demands solutions compatible with environmental law requirements. Hence, this study contributes for a more sustainable development pattern regarding e-waste management in the country, since it reinforces the importance of circularity.

PLANEJAMENTO E FINANCIAMENTO DA MOBILIDADE URBANA NA REGIÃO METROPOLITANA DO RIO DE JANEIRO

Este trabalho tem por objetivo analisar as políticas de mobilidade urbana desenvolvidas para a Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro (RMRJ), com foco na última década. Pretende-se apresentar aspectos que foram identificados como mais sensíveis e prioritários, como foram enfrentados pelos poderes públicos e onde se localizaram as principais intervenções e investimentos. Para o desenvolvimento desta análise, optou-se por recorrer a dois subsídios importantes: os planos metropolitanos aprovados para ou na última década e alguns dos principais investimentos de alto impacto que foram contratados e/ou desembolsados.