Page 52 - UmRio Sustainability - Action Plan

FUTURE INITIATIVES

FUTURE INITIATIVE 3

Create a Living Lab in Partnership with FioCruz

UmRio could strategically mobilize its
partnership with FioCruz and use Morro do
Castro as a living lab for sustainability and
climate change resilience initiatives to solve
favela infrastructure challenges, drive

sustainability innovation, create jobs related to
the sustainable economy, and develop a
generation of leaders that are equipped to drive
change, both in Brazil and internationally.
UmRio could promote and facilitate stakeholder
collaboration to leverage Morro do Castro as a
test case for innovation and creating
sustainability knowledge focused on the unique
challenges that favelas face with climate change. Graphic courtesy of Swedish
International Centre for Local Democracy.
(Call for Research Proposals, 2023)
UmRio should start with the previously mentioned

surveys, conducted in partnership with FioCruz, to establish residents’ priorities and
engage them with efforts that reflect what is most essential or concerning to them. For
example, one concern that residents mentioned in the brief survey was food availability
and food prices due to climate change. Since residents are typically low-income earners,
they cannot withstand shocks to the food supply or pricing spikes.

A good place for UmRio to begin this development with FioCruz and speaking with The
Insper Institute of Education and Research in São Paulo, Brazil. Insper is a private
university that recently announced a project, in partnership with MIT, to examine the
impact of climate change on women who live in favelas and other low-income
neighborhoods.

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