People’s right to the city has been eroded by mega-event evictions in Rio de Janiero

Brazil has been preparing furiously for the upcoming World Cup and 2016 Olympics. While these developments are thought to represent the country’s growing economy and rising middle class, such “progress” has come at the expense of Brazil’s poorest citizens. Sue Brownill, Ramin Keivani, and Erick Omena de Melo look at the forced evictions in Vila Autódromo to make way for Olympic venues, in spite of the residents’ legal title to their site, arguing that it is representative of global trends of market and state forces eroding people’s right to the city.