Respect: memory, housing and pride in the Little Africa
In the shameful history of slavery in Brazil, the port zone of Rio de Janeiro was marked, in the 18th and 19th centuries, by the landing of thousands of enslaved Africans. Cais do Valongo was covered by land fill for many years and was only recently rediscovered. It is the main representation of the public policies that tried to forget that past. The population of the old Port Zone, mainly black and poor, still resists the attempts at social whitening, nurturing their traditions. Their future, however, is at risk. The real estate speculation promoted by the Porto Maravilha urban operation and the lack of public resources for social housing represent a great threat to the permanence of those families. Aiming to reclaim the memory and value black culture, the recognition of the Cais do Valongo Archaeological Site as a World Heritage Site has been proposed to UNESCO. However, the lack of public policies that make possible the stay of afro-descendant families, the main symbolic value of that heritage, can perpetuate the centuries-old social inequality and disrespect. Our proposal, a possible reference for other areas of the Port Zone, is to make Rua São Francisco da Prainha a leisure space for the afro-descendant community at the urban quilombo Pedra do Sal. We propose its transformation into a pedestrian zone, as well as the renovation of the properties belonging to the quilombo, converting them to residential, commercial and cultural purposes that could create jobs and income for the population. The promotion of respect takes place through: the land regularization and renovation of houses, using public resources in projects that respect the heritage; the guarantee of proper housing for the families organized in associations, self-management cooperatives or other defence instruments against the gentrification process; the creation of income for the community and to maintain the property; and the rescue and preservation of memory, with religious, gastronomic and cultural activities that value African origins.
Anne-Marie Broudehoux has a PhD in Architecture from the University of California in Berkley. She has been a professor at the Design School of the Université du Québec à Montréal since 2002. Her research, financed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, tackles the sociospatial transformations in Rio de Janeiro's Port Zone.
Helena Galiza is an architect and a PhD in Urbanism from UFRJ. She has worked for the federal government with public policies for the rehabilitation of central areas, a theme on which she works as an academic researcher and social activist, as a technical advisor for movements that fight for proper housing, including the families of Quilombo Pedra do Sal.
João Carlos Monteiro is a geographer, a master in Urban and Regional Planning and a doctor candidate in Urban Studies at Université du Québec à Montréal. For the last ten years, he has been carrying out research in the Port Zone of Rio de Janeiro, mainly on the issue of social interest housing
Jonathan Simard is an architect and master in Architecture from Université Laval. His final master's project deals with the rehabilitation of a building of the quilombo community Pedra do Sal. He was responsible for the visual presentation of the proposal and participated in the conception of the project.
