Abstract:
This research aims to reflect upon the production of urban space in the City of Rio de Janeiro related to the execution of projects associated with the 2016 Olympics and their impacts on housing rights and city rights. To this end, we attempt to follow the ongoing processes by identifying and dialoging with social agents directly involved. Starting with reference to the fundamental works of Harvey (1980, 1992, 2004a, 2004b, 2005), we analyse the emergence of the entrepreneurial urban governance model from which the capitalist agents involved in the process of urban management develop strategies for the inclusion of urban spaces into the circuits of neoliberal global capital accumulation. We use the shifting landscape of residential real-estate to reflect upon the production of urban space in the city of Rio de Janeiro, noting their strong associations with mega-sports events and tight control by a coalition of agents that are leading the entrepreneurial urban governance. These processes are associated with the accelerated mercantilization of urban space and are marked by mechanisms of accumulation by dispossession that reinforce the historic segregation in Rio de Janeiro, further denying the right to the city for popular classes.
