Even while staying in Copacabana instead of Barra where most of the Rio + 20 activities are happening this week there is still ample opportunity to learn new things about sustainable development.

I ran across this interesting exhibit made of milk crates in Copacabana an hour ago that drew attention to Rio’s Morar Carioca Programme.

What Morar Carioca has done since July 2010 is upgrade the urban slums in Rio. The program will last until 2020 fueled by an investment of 8 billion reais and will benefit 280,000 households.

Inside the exhibit I learned that  Rio de Janeiro considered climate change and opted for environmentally responsible solutions to address slum urbanization.  The exhibit laid out the plan in detail.

There will be resizing of the sewer and drain network. We all know how important sanitation is to global health. Additionally, new residential buildings will be made of sustainable materials.

Related articles

• The Urbanization of Rio de Janeiro’s Slums, a Model for Sustainable Development (treehugger.com)
• First Impressions at Rio+20: A Question of Scale? (treehugger.com)
• UN Official: Rio+20 Statement Just 28 Pct Done (abcnews.go.com)

Photos: Jennifer James