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The thorny task of comparing crime rates across the world is tricky because legal interpretations vary. Sweden's definition of rape is not the same as America’s, for example. Murder however should be easier to record because there is an identifiable victim, something that can be counted. But the way in which this is done in poorer, often more corrupt countries makes truly comparable statistics hard to pin down. Where there are inefficient public health systems or police, it is even harder. — the Economist
"Latin American and Caribbean countries suffer disproportionately compared with elsewhere, mainly because of inequality, poor rule of law, impunity and corrupt institutions that are infiltrated by drug cartels. Only two countries outside the region feature on either chart, South Africa and the... View full entry
Out of a shortlist of six firms, The Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations has chosen Studio Gang Architects, run by MacArthur fellow and winner of 2016's Architect of the Year from the Women in Architecture Awards, Jeanne Gang, to design a multi-building campus for the... View full entry
what exactly does housing justice look like in a metropolis where the wealthiest commute via helicopters while the poorest live in shantytowns perched on riverbanks? [...]
“The new master plan tries to resolve one of São Paulo’s biggest challenges, which is its decentralization" [...]
The master plan calls for ... transit-oriented development ... [and] expanding and honing the controversial Zonas Especiais de Interesse Social... swaths of the city defined as having “special social interest.”
— nextcity.org
More news from São Paulo and housing crises the world over:Relocation or Adaptation: São Paulo Nears Collapse as Drought ContinuesActivism targeting London's housing crisis bubbles to the surfaceUnaffordable cities: this criminal lack of housing is a global scandalBrazilian engineering companies... View full entry
The city of Rio de Janeiro canceled the construction contract for the Olympic tennis center on Thursday, just 200 days before the start of the games, fining the consortium responsible for delays and breach of contract for the mostly finished venue. [...]
Rio City Hall, which is responsible for the construction, did not say how the tennis center, which is 90-percent complete, will be finished.
— reuters.com
Related stories in the Archinect news:Will Rio's Olympic venues be ready in time for the 2016 Games?Brazilian engineering companies building Olympic venues "very probably" broke laws, accepted bribesOlympic Infrastructure Displaces Brazilian Families View full entry
Felipe Russo, photographer who lives and works in São Paulo, Brazil dedicated a photoseries titled Centro, to this vibrant and complex city.
Felipe Russo focuses on nearly invisible objects spotted in urban space. He analyses coincidentally captured oddments to decode zeitgeist of a modern city. A plastic bag, brick, cardboard box or zoomed-in cobblestone hidden between business centers, skyscrapers and modern buildings became subjects of surreal compositions.
— thisispaper.com
Photos from the series Centro by Felipe Russo.Related stories on Archinect:Articulating Space: The Architecture of the São Paulo BiennialThe Ruins of CongonhasRelocation or Adaptation: São Paulo Nears Collapse as Drought Continues View full entry
Brazilian police investigating corruption around the state-run oil firm Petrobras also plan to investigate more than $10bn of construction contracts for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to a lead investigator on the case.
Some of the big engineering companies caught up in the Petrobras inquiry “very probably” broke laws against price-fixing and bribery on contracts to build Olympic venues, said Igor Romario, a federal police chief and key figure in the investigation.
— The Guardian
Related coverage:Another Olympics, another story of displacementWill Rio's Olympic venues be ready in time for the 2016 Games?Olympic Infrastructure Displaces Brazilian FamiliesRacing to Get Ready: Rio 2016 OlympicsOlympics Set To Transform Rio — But For Better Or Worse? View full entry
[Sara Zewde] argues that while the traditional monument commemorates a singular event or individual by placing an object in a space that is a break from its surroundings, the 400-year practice of African enslavement demands a different approach.
“For Afro-descended people, you wake up every day with the legacy of slavery,” she says. “How do you deal with that spatially?”
One approach is to translate cultural practices into spatial ones.
— Next City
'When these [2007 Pan Am] venues were built the government told Brazilians that these would be Olympic-ready, and there would be a rather smooth and efficient transition to eventually hosting the Olympics,' explained Rio-based reporter Taylor Barnes...'But, these venues have instead had some pretty checkered after-lives.' — pri.org
Despite a murky past of broken promises in addition to recent water-safety concerns and rampant economic turmoil, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes claims construction of the venues are on schedule and will be delivered on time for the 2016 Olympics -- which will begin one year from now. Public... View full entry
Sérgio Bernardes was a star of 60s Brazil, a brilliant architect and a mesmerising man. And then almost forgotten. His grandson has made a film to discover what happened — theguardian.com
South America's biggest and wealthiest city may run out of water by mid-November if it doesn't rain soon. São Paulo, a Brazilian megacity of 20 million people, is suffering its worst drought in at least 80 years, with key reservoirs that supply the city dried up after an unusually dry year. — Thompson Reuters Foundation
One of the most important reservoirs in Brazil is the Cantareira watershed, which supplies around 45% of the city of São Paulo's water. Back in August, authorities warned that the city, which is the largest on the continent, could run out of water in 100 days if the waters dropped to 12%. Now... View full entry
The São Paulo Biennial, which opened on September 6, is traditionally a contemporary art festival, but this year’s event puts new emphasis on architecture. Chief curator Charles Esche commissioned nearly 70 percent of the exhibition’s artworks, collaborating with a five-person curatorial team that included an architect for the first time in the biennial’s 63-year history (fun fact: it’s the world’s second-oldest contemporary art biennial). — blouinartinfo.com
Friday, September 5:Beijing public transit commuters can now pay fares with empty bottles: Beijingers can insert a recyclable bottle and receive equivalent rebates in train fares or mobile phone credits.Community Bus Stops Transform Brazil: Thousands of Brazil's bus stops are unmarked, leading... View full entry
Thousands of bus stops in Brazil completely lack signage to indicate which buses actually stop there. The nation-wide inconvenience has finally been tackled by one of the biggest community projects in the world.
‘Que Ônibus Passa Aqui?’ (‘Which Bus Stops here?’) is a resident-led initiative which has taken Brazil by storm.
— popupcity.net
Later this month, about 900 of the 1,500 families who live in Vila União will start to move out to make way for the TransOlímpica rapid bus system (BRT) to be built for the 2016 Rio Olympics. It is one of the biggest favela resettlements since Rio was chosen to host the games, with some 500 families also resettled from 2010 to 2011 for the construction of the TransOeste BRT. — Al Jazeera
Through the free-flowing talent of Costa, Niemeyer, Burle Marx and Athos Bulcão, Brasília—the only city built in the 20th century that is listed by Unesco—has captivated the world since 1960. But the federal capital has not made Modernism sacred in the country as a whole and the protection of Modern architecture is still in its infancy. — theartnewspaper.com