Five Percent Favela Reduction Plan Upends Rio Communities

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - MAY 27: Twins Wendy (R) and Isis Guimaraes pose in front of their home which remains standing in an area where homes were torn down in the Manguinhos community on May 27, 2014 in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The twins' father says they have been made sick from open sewage in the area. Residents from one section of the 'favela', visited by Pope Francis in July 2013, have been affected by construction from the improvement works project begun in 2008. A full sanitation system has yet to be built. Evictions and demolitions have been occurring in Rio favelas ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Rio 2016 Olympic Games in spite of a housing shortage in the city. Rio's housing and urban planning goals include a planned five percent reduction of areas occupied by favelas by 2016. Alternative affordable housing, generally on the peripheries of the city, is unable to meet demand and some residents complain they have not received adequate compensation for demolished homes. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)