Throughout history, numerous cities worldwide have been settled and built on hillsides, where one can observe the myriad urban challenges they face due to their topographical conditions. However, beyond issues related to their urban infrastructure or transportation systems, which can become more complex due to the geography, hillside urban occupation typically involves various intersections of social, environmental, and economic issues.
These settlements are often inhabited by vulnerable and low-income communities, driven by a variety of motivations. Frequently, the lack of information about certain hazards, coupled with the scarcity of adequate housing policies, leads to decisions and actions that place these communities in high-risk situations, especially during the rainy season, resulting in a cycle that disproportionately affects the most marginalized residents.
The search for affordable housing, proximity to work or the city center, or simply the lack of viable housing options and public policies are some of the reasons why many families occupy hillside areas in cities, where they find cheaper and apparently accessible land. However, the irregular and often unstable topography makes it difficult to build safe and stable housing, and communities that settle in these areas often face difficulties accessing basic services such as clean water, electricity, and sanitation. In addition, the lack of adequate infrastructure, such as roads and drainage systems, also exacerbates the challenges faced.
During rainy periods, the risks associated with hillside occupation become even more evident and difficult. Heavy rains saturate the soil, significantly increasing its instability and making slopes prone to landslides and erosion. Removing natural vegetation to make way for construction and infrastructure contributes to biodiversity loss and environmental degradation and increases soil impermeability and surface runoff. Unprotected slopes may collapse under the weight of water, leading to the destruction of homes and road blockages and causing severe injuries and loss of human lives.
In this context, it is also important to relate the discussion about urban occupations on hillsides to environmental racism, a term increasingly present in contemporary debates and embedded in many challenges faced by cities. Environmental racism refers to the unequal distribution of negative environmental impacts, which often disproportionately affect racially and economically vulnerable communities. In hillside cities, this dynamic is evident, as it is precisely black and poor communities that are most affected by the issues mentioned and are also the most highlighted and covered in the news due to the losses they suffer. According to a piece by Fernanda Rosário published in the communication agency Alma Preta:
This racism is also reflected in the lack of development of public and environmental policies and is evident in the absence of enforcement of laws and regulations that protect vulnerable populations, as well as in environmental conservation measures that disregard the sustainable and ancestral management practices of traditional peoples, who are the main custodians of biodiversity. [...] The populations most impacted by environmental racism include quilombola communities, fishing communities, indigenous peoples, riverine dwellers, residents of peripheral areas, Black individuals, and other traditional groups and communities. These people are often threatened by the risk of contamination, collapse, dam breaches, agribusiness invasions, and the effects of climate change, among other factors.
It is essential to recognize the need to address the structural inequalities that perpetuate environmental racism in cities. Through the discussion of urban occupation on hillsides, it is possible to visualize the intersection between social inequality, vulnerability, and environmental racism, where low-income communities, often composed of ethnic and racial minorities, are disproportionately affected by these events, which are often still portrayed and perceived as "natural."
To tackle these complex challenges effectively, we must take an integrated approach, which means looking beyond just housing and safety concerns to consider the social and environmental factors at play and the unique characteristics of each terrain and urban setting. This approach demands the active participation of affected and vulnerable communities, bolstering public policies aimed at housing, and implementing robust disaster prevention measures in areas prone to landslides and other hazards. We can foster safer and more equitable communities where residents can live with dignity and security in our cities.
