Mega projects and expulsion policies: violations of the right to the city in Fortaleza, Brazil

Abstract

In the twentieth century Fortaleza went through an intense process of disoriented occupation, becoming one of the most dense and unequals cities in Brazil. For its characteristic as a touristic city, reinforced by the arrival of the World’s Cup 2014, this town became a target for the implantation of mega projects, marked by the exclusion of the popular participation and by the violation of rights of the poorest population. This work intends to analyze two relevant cases. The first one is about the light rail vehicle, the spotlight of a package to improve urban mobility in the World Cup. This new equipment should link the hotel sector to an intermodal terminal next to the football stadium, taking advantage of an old freight train rail. However, this project imposes the expulsion of about 2000 families living in communities located in the neighborhoods where the rail passes through, which will have their land financially valued with the new venture. The alternative to the resettlement is the second study case. The Residencial Cidade Jardim, was built up to receive only the lower income families, having in its first stage, about 20.000 people distributed in 5.536 apartments, each one with the same 48m² floor plan, in a peripheral area city borders. The research points up that in the mega events, the implantation of huge projects leads to the disrespect of the laws, repeating the old practices of exclusion dissociated from the actual urban planning, denying the poorest people right to the city and reinforcing the real estate market.