Redes da Maré

The territory called Maré is a neighborhood located in the North Zone of Rio de Janeiro and consists of 16 favelas located on the shores of Guanabara Bay. It is located between the three main roads of the city: Av. Brasil, Linha Vermelha and Linha Amarela, and is close to the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and Tom Jobim International Airport.

Throughout its history, Maré has become the most populous group of favelas in the city of Rio, where more than 140,000 people live in more than 47,000 households in an area of less than 4km². With this population, the neighborhood is the ninth most populous in the city and it’s larger than 96% of the municipalities in Brazil.

As it borders the Guanabara Bay, originally characterized by mangrove vegetation, Maré began to be occupied, in the mid-20th century, by stilt houses. The mangroves, which suffered the effects of the tides, were gradually being filled with rubble from construction waste donated by neighboring districts. Maré was consolidated between the 1940s and the 2000s, based on the organization and initiative of the residents or through housing programs promoted by the government.

Most residents are women (51%), black and brown people (62.1%) and young people under 30 (51.9%)

Population with a strong presence of Northeasters (18.3%)

61.8% of residents have lived in Maré since they were born

2.4% of the population had access to higher education

64.3% of households in Maré are owned

Source: Census Maré;

Its territory is laid out on a strip practically contiguous to the margin of Avenida Brasil, which extends along slums that were once part of the neighborhoods of Manguinhos, Bonsucesso or Ramos and which today constitute the Maré neighborhood. Collectively recognized as a neighborhood only on January 19, 1994, through Municipal Law 2,119, the 16 favelas that make up Maré have differences, many of them due to the historical formation that has taken place over the years, both due to population migration and by attempts to eliminate and remove the favelas.

The localities that make up Maré, in chronological order are: Morro do Timbau (1940), Baixa do Sapateiro (1947), Marcílio Dias (1948), Parque Maré (1953), Parque Rubens Vaz (1954), Parque Roquete Pinto (1955), Parque União (1961), Nova Holanda (1962), Praia de Ramos (1962), Conjunto Esperança (1982), Vila do João (1982), Vila dos Pinheiros (1983), Conjunto Pinheiros (1989), Conjunto Bento Ribeiro Dantas (1992), Nova Maré (1996) and Novo Pinheiros (2000), latter known as Salsa e Merengue.

Maré represents more than 9% of the population residing in favelas in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore, it represents almost 21% of all favela residents in the Planning Area in which it is located, AP3 (North Zone), the region of the city that has the largest number of favela residents. It can be said that, out of every 46 residents of the city, one resides in the set of favelas in Maré. Therefore, Maré faces challenges and problems worthy of a medium-sized Brazilian city.

Absence of public policies adequate to the local reality, deficient basic sanitation, garbage collection and public transport, violent police approaches, few public facilities or even the low quality of services offered are some of the problems experienced daily by the population of Maré.

These great challenges have been faced with processes of mobilization, struggle and organization of residents, especially based on demands for structure and access to rights. Here are some milestones that formed what Maré is today:

From the 1980s onwards: organization of Residents' Associations

Nova Holanda Neighborhood Association Elections: Chapa Rosa

Creation of civil society organizations and collectives, such as Redes da Maré

Photos below: Casa de Oswaldo Cruz

Maré has a history of social engagement and Redes da Maré itself is the result of this community participation. Formed by residents who, since the 1980s, sought to enforce their rights, the institution was formalized in 2007 and its mission is to develop the necessary networks to enforce the rights of the population of the 16 favelas of Maré. It is an organization that operates from five structural axes and has as its work methodology: Mobilization of residents and strengthening of local actors; Political incidence; Networking and partnerships; Diagnosis and production of knowledge.

BOOKS ABOUT THE TERRITORY

Life in the Favela

Testimonies from Maré 2nd Edition

Memory and Identity of the Residents of Nova Holanda

Residents' Perception on Public Security

Articulation of Essential Themes for Education in Maré

The Occupation of Maré by the Brazilian Army

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TERRITORY AND ITS POPULATION

MARÉ CENSUS

MARÉ POPULATION CENSUS (2019)

The survey carried out in 2013 counted 139,073 residents, distributed in 47,758 households, using the same coverage method as IBGE Census. The research covers the characteristics of housing and people, such as access to urban services, age structure, school profile, place of birth,

SEE THE 2019 CENSUS (PDF)

MARÉ STREETS GUIDE (2014)

The work mapped 815 public places, of which more than half were not included in the official databases. The guide started to be used by postmen, health agents, guardianship councils, social workers and even by justice officials to locate themselves in the region.

Thus, Maré was placed on the map of the city, guaranteeing all the zip codes of their homes.

SEE THE 2014 CENSUS (PDF)

MARÉ ENTERPRISES CENSUS (2014) REFERENCE GUIDE FOR INVESTORS AND CONSUMERS .

This stage of the Census counted 3,182 commercial establishments in Maré and collected information on suppliers, customer profiles, credit instruments, technical qualification, workforce composition, conditions for operation and expansion.

SEE THE ENTERPRISES CENSUS (PDF)

ABOUT US • ABOUT MARÉ