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Rio Issues Land Titles To Slum Residents
Source: Associated Press
Rio Issues Land Titles To Slum Residents
by The Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO May 23, 2012, 11:55 am ET
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The home Jose Nazare Braga built in the Rocinha shantytown is his life's work, an investment that grew from a shack to a three-story building over 30 years. A restaurant and a paper-goods store on the ground floor provide income, and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren live above.
The red-brick building is Braga's nest egg, his retirement home and an inheritance for his large family. But for decades, the property wasn't formally his, and he lived in fear of losing it all.
Now local officials and human rights groups are working to give legal title to tens of thousands of people like Braga, a process that increases their wealth and gives them greater access to credit, as well as peace of mind.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The programs so far are just beginning to tackle a widespread problem: A third of the people in Rio state, nearly 5 million people, don't have title to their homes, an uncertainty shared by most of the approximately 1 billion people who living in slums globally. Similar efforts are under way in many nations, where formalizing land tenure can give millions a secure hold on what is often a family's most valuable asset.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
by The Associated Press
RIO DE JANEIRO May 23, 2012, 11:55 am ET
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The home Jose Nazare Braga built in the Rocinha shantytown is his life's work, an investment that grew from a shack to a three-story building over 30 years. A restaurant and a paper-goods store on the ground floor provide income, and his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren live above.
The red-brick building is Braga's nest egg, his retirement home and an inheritance for his large family. But for decades, the property wasn't formally his, and he lived in fear of losing it all.
Now local officials and human rights groups are working to give legal title to tens of thousands of people like Braga, a process that increases their wealth and gives them greater access to credit, as well as peace of mind.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
The programs so far are just beginning to tackle a widespread problem: A third of the people in Rio state, nearly 5 million people, don't have title to their homes, an uncertainty shared by most of the approximately 1 billion people who living in slums globally. Similar efforts are under way in many nations, where formalizing land tenure can give millions a secure hold on what is often a family's most valuable asset.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=153411923
