RIO DE JANEIRO — Look at most maps of Rio de Janeiro. The beaches are easy to spot, as are the iconic ocean-front neighborhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema. In the middle is a vast forest.
A nonprofit organization run by current and former favela residents called Redes da Mare has started the first mapping program to systematically chart our the favelas for municipal governments. We take for granted what having an address on a named street means in a modern society; it is a portal to public utilities, recognition with businesses and countless other social benefits. Being left ‘off the map’ is synonymous with being left behind. By finding their way on the city maps they are removing some of the social stigma that sought to treat them as if they did not exist.
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