Thursday, January 31, 2013

is is demolition one of the millennium development goals?

A dozen buildings in Monrovia have been demolished in a so-called clean up drive as Liberia is set to host a high-level UN panel on the millennium development goals later this week.

“We want to make this city the greenest and cleanest city in West Africa,” Monrovia Mayor Mary Broh told the UN's Inter Press Service.

Money quote: The two contrasting images of a meeting of world leaders at a five-star hotel in downtown Monrovia as blocks away locals decry the demolition of their homes raises questions about the purpose and substance of the meeting and the implications it will have for this post-war country, student activist Janjay Gbarkpe told IPS.

Indeed. If this doesn't make you angry, and doesn't make you question whether the UN's Millennium Development Goals are serious or meaningful, what the hell will? As the protestor's sign says, with dignified understatement, "All is not well."

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Gentrification hits Vidigal

The BBC reports on the massive property boom in Rio's favelas. A huge rise in prices is pushing people out. To what extent is this fueled by the Olympics and the World Cup?