Failing the Informal City: How Rio de Janeiro's Mega Sporting Events Derailed the Legacy of Favela-Bairro

The eviction of thousands of inhabitants from informal settlements has been a regressive feature in the lead up to Rio 2016. Writer and curator Justin McGuirk describes why, on the eve of the Olympic Games, the government reverted to favela removals after the enlightened era of the Favela‐Bairro in the 1990s, which saw informal communities upgraded and integrated into the formal city.