From mud to chaos: an estuary called Guanabara Bay

This paper aims to analyze the “water flow” in the city of Rio de Janeiro, the unequal power relations involved in its management, and the consequence of this situation in peripheral areas. To this end, we carried out a literature review, interviews with managers, water users and civil society representatives, and analyzed the Water User Registration provided by the governing body. We verified that in the context of social and spatial mutations linked to industrialization and to huge investments for a (new) cleaning-up of Guanabara Bay, the guarantee of access to water, as well as the treatment given to users, continues to vary significantly in Rio de Janeiro.

本研究旨在剖析里约热内卢市的供水水流（water flow）、其管理过程中涉及的不平等权力关系，以及该现状在边缘地区造成的后果。为此，本研究开展了文献综述、对水务管理者、用水户及民间社会代表的访谈，并对主管机构提供的用水户登记系统（Water User Registration）进行了分析。经研究证实，在与工业化相关的社会与空间变迁，以及为（新一轮）瓜纳巴拉湾（Guanabara Bay）清理整治工程开展的巨额投资背景下，里约热内卢市的供水保障及对用户的服务待遇仍存在显著差异。