15-62146

THE AGENCY
OF MAPPING :
SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT
IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Stage__[1]

D1

D1

INTRODUCTION

It can no longer be said the internet has no form

Today and tomorrow it is a weapon of marginalisation, whose figure can be seen in the shadows of
urbanization. As our cities become crowded, there
are those that exist outside of our technological infrastructures, those who are exempt from our own
global networks of communications. The occupants
of our worlds densest cities too often live without
a voice, silent amongst the chorus of political discourse. Unmapped and unchartered, the informal
settlements of our cities too often lie dis-empowered,
misunderstood and miss-represented.
Throughout history cartography has been the primary agent in the construction of our social and
political infrastructure. Through the agency of mapping we have found ways to connect vast expanses of
the earth, whilst surveying its most intricate parts.
However as our tools of cartographic representation become dependent on the modern systems of
technology, it is no longer the distant corners of the
Antarctic that lie unknown, but instead the arteries
of our own cities. Through comparing the global
patterns of density according to population - [fig.
A], against IP density or access to the internet [fig.
B] we can begin to comprehend the exclusionary application of our technological infrastructures and the
socio-economic divisions they perpetuate. In an age
when a physical address is a basic requirement for
job applications, bill payment and even the right to
vote, it is imperative we re-think the contemporary
means and technologies through which we map our
cities in order to empower communities, and bridge
the social divide.

In the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro social division

and its architectural implications have been at the
forefront of political debate throughout its modern history. According to the IBGE 2010 census;
6,323,037 [3] residents of Rio de Janeiro live in
favelas or irregular housing communities. These
communities are largely unchartered, and for decades these settlements were simply not shown on city
maps. Residents of these favelas often live without an
address, and thus the necessary information to apply
for a job, bank account or even direct fire and police
authorities during emergency service calls. However
as reported in the Wall Street Journal [4], 85 percent
of brazils favela residents own a mobile phone, with
more than 50 percent accessing the internet regularly. These figures in conjunction with open source
mapping platforms present a new frontier through
which architecture is enabled to re-imagine the act
of mapping and its social implications in the favela.
[D1] In order to establish a tangible platform from
which mappings can be drawn, the site must first be
understood from an aerial perspective. Kites provide
an ideal mapping platform as they dance across
the roofs of the favelas. Comprised from ad-hoc
materials, these kites can be fitted with low-tech
innovations in order to gain hi-resolution imagery of
the settlement. The re-use of a bottle and four nails
will support most common cameras and enable a
vertically directed frame strapped to the kite, through
which the camera can operate.

1,50m ~ 1km2

[A]

[B]

100m ~ 750m2

[C]
Stage__[2]

50m ~ 500m2

[D2] The adaption of QR Barcoding in marketing

and architecture has radically changed the interface
between our physical and digital location. Through
painting a simple variant of this system on each roof,
wall or path, residents of the favela provide each
dwelling with a physical and digital known point.
Distinct from its neighbour, these markers enable
each resident to locate their own property within the
imagery of the settlement, thus providing themselves
with an address and the agency to engage in the open
source mapping platforms that dictate our economic
landscape.

25m ~ 250m2

D2

D2

Kite Based Mapping ::

Latitude:38 41 7.8351
Longitude:-96 30 14.0625
Latitude:N 38 41.1306
Longitude:W 96 30.2344
Latitude:38.68550976001z200
Longitude:-96.50390625000000

1. Fig. [A] - Data Obtained via; Index Mundi. http://www.indexmundi.com/map/?t=0&v=21000&r=xx&l=en

2. Fig. [B] - Data Obtained via: Amelia Bryne. Zones of Silence, May 2, 2010.
3. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Census 2012. http://www.ibge.gov.br/english/
4. Will Connors, Wall Street Jounral, Sep 12, 2014; Google, Microsoft Exposes Brazils Favelas.

Latitude:38 41 7.8351
Longitude:-96 30 14.0625
Latitude:N 38 41.1306
Longitude:W 96 30.2344
Latitude:38.68550976001200
Longitude:-96.50390625000000

If my shop was on the map maybe more people would find it. Lots of people have lived here for many
years and dont know about my business. Rocinha is really big Maria Ribeiro, Laundromat owner,
Rocinha Favela.
Reported by Aarian Marshall, CityLab, Sep 26 2014.

15-62146
THE AGENCY
OF MAPPING :
SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT
IN RIO DE JANEIRO

Components__

[1]

[2]

[3]

Kit of parts
deployment :

Name:

The Settlement.

Name:

Application__

Name:
Application:

[A]

The Kite Flyer.

The process of photographic mapping becomes a performative event
as kites take to the sky, dancing
across the roof top favelas. The
processes its self is not only community dependant but driven.

[D]

Name:

The Kite (already a prevalent character within the favela) becomes

the aerial vehicle to support is
photographic apparatus.

Each settlement or (relevant point

to be mapped) must first be visually equipped with a Q-R barcode
system. This marker need not be
complex, but only unique from its
neighbours.

The Kite.

[B]

The Owner.

Name:

The Surveyor.

Now with its own cartographic

database, each resident of the favela
may choose to utilise the marking
system to further legitimising their
ownership of the land, challenging
any future eviction.

Application:

Local community and government

based councils may utilize the database as a means of surveying the
land and identifying potential challenges and structural hazardous.

[F]

Name:

The Visitor.

Name:

The Blogger.

Name:

The Network.

Application:

Able to access information from

abroad, the visitor is now able to
locate and explore the ever growing
community of favela based small
business and trade.

Application:

Each resident may use their own

physical and virtual address as a
platform to narrate their own story
of empowerment.

Application:

Now with their own means to tap

into global infrastructures, the network of residents can discover new
found potential for the actions of
their local community.

Dencity_2015
Axonametries::

/LANDFILL

In Rocinha, 49-year-old Zezinho has been covering neighbourhood developments on his online weblog in English. I
am proud to be a Favelado and want to share my life with the world, he says. Zezinho wants to improve the image of
favelas: The media constantly spread negative perceptions of our neighbourhood in the news, so people outside get
very little accurate information. [3]

[C]

PERSONAL_
PROFILE

/ALTO SANTA MARTRA

/TIAGO_DE_SOUZA

TYPE_

14.7

TYPE_

ACCOMODATION

GENDER_

N/A

LOCATION_

22.9068 S, 43.1729 W

LOCATION_

21.9074 S, 43.1849 W

AGE_

13

DISTRICT_

VIDIGAL

DISTRICT_

SANTA MARTRA

ADDRESS_

16. RUA_VIDIGAL

A.65

Application:

[B]

BUSINESS_
REGISTRY

[C]

Name:

[E]

HAZARDOUS_
LANDFILL

The Wind.
With year round wind, the climate
need only support the kite and
camera several days in the month,
allowing for a continually updated
data base.

[A]

D.36

F.24

COMMENTS_

LINKS_

LINKS_

UNSAFE ACCUMULATION OF RUBBISH IN BLOCK A.65 MAY

CAUSE IRRIGATION ISSUES AND POSSES RISK OF CAUSING
LANDSLIDE OR FURTHER DAMAGE TO NEIGHBOURING
PROPERTIES COUNCIL TO INFORM RESIDENTS AND ISSUE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC CLEAN UP_
[FUNDING REQUIRED].

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Favela+Santa+Marta+Tour/@-22.948371,-43.193533,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x997fe808450fc5:0xa973ca65acad4e1b

https://www.facebook.com/Tiago7
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tiago-de-souza/71/929/82b
http://www.escol.as/182263-creche-municipal-vidigal

https://www.airbnb.com.au/s/Rio-de-Janeiro-~-State-of-Rio-de-Janeiro-Brazil?checkin=&source=bb&ss_id=56khqk8l

__NO FURTHER LINKS

Through generating a cartographic data base of

the favela and its inhabitants, the community is
able to utilize the associated photographic mappings as a tool for surveying their immediate
environment. The surveying party may use the
cameras attached to the kites to gather aerial images, helping to identify the presence or absence
of drainage systems, the availability of sanitation
facilities, impediments to evacuation, and other
issues. [1] Community based survey initiatives
throughout Rio have previously utilized the
use mobile phones loaded with UNICEF-GIS
to photograph problems; these photos are then
automatically tagged with global positioning
system (GPS) coordinates, enabling researchers and officials to pinpoint the problem areas.

[A]

Latitude:38 41 7.8351
Longitude:-96 30 14.0625

[B]

Latitude:N 38 41.1306
Longitude:W 96 30.2344

[C]

Latitude:38.68550976001200
Longitude:-96.50390625000000

Through mapping the community and providing each dwelling with a physical and virtual
address, local co-operatives such as business registries may provide small business with the scope
to advertise beyond their immediate urban
environment. As the community itself becomes
a cartographic force of self-representation, the
social and economic complexities found in
the favela become mirrored through their own
digital language. [2] The virtual map helps those
within and outside the favela to find and make
use of local services, exploiting the plethora of
online location services. Now, as each business
is equipped with a physical address they have
the capacity grow and strengthen ties within the
local community, fostering an accessible community based network of goods and trade.

Individuals now associated with their own

physical address may now upload personal information associated with their digital marker.
As each house is linked to its online database,
its residents are linked to the online social
networks that sculpt our modern modes of
communication. Their physical address may be
used in the application of jobs, bank accounts
and bill payments among other resources necessary to engage with their wider community.
Residents can blog their own story, empowering the community with their own voice and
means of self-representation. The information
linked to these markers may be managed at
their own discretion. Privacy is determined
by the user, tailoring the physical and online
mapping resource to their own needs and goals.

1. UNICEF. In Brazil, Adolescents Use UNICEFs New Digital Mapping Technologies, March 20, 2015 - http://www.unicef.org/
statistics/brazil_62043.html
2. Sonja Peteranderl, Feb 16, 2013, Digital Activism-Live from the favela - http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/internet-opens-windows-life-brazilian-favelas