Favelas e comunidades urbanas: o caso do município de Manaus-AM, Brasil

Abstract

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) identified that 55.8% of the population of the municipality of Manaus—located in the state of Amazonas, in the Northern region of Brazil—reside in Favelas and Urban Communities (FCU). This overview places Manaus-AM among the Brazilian municipalities with the highest percentage of inhabitants living in FCUs. Multiple dimensions and scales of analysis, as well as social, urban, and environmental implications, are associated with this phenomenon.This research aims to analyze the favelization scenario in the municipality of Manaus-AM, as identified by the 2022 Demographic Census, considering historical determinants and inequalities associated with working-class territories. The study sought to problematize the expansion of this phenomenon within the city's historical urbanization process, in addition to assessing the situation of the territories identified as FCUs by the 2022 Demographic Census regarding population and territorial distribution, access to essential sanitation services, and disaster risk. To this end, data from the national census (IBGE, 2022) were integrated with the geological risk mapping of the municipality of Manaus-AM (Pedrazzi et al., 2025). Regarding the methodology, this is an exploratory and descriptive study with a qualitative and quantitative approach, conducted through a literature review and documentary research of secondary sources. The analyses are grounded in theoretical and empirical approaches that discuss favelization as a structural phenomenon of the urbanization process in Brazil, considering geographical, social, economic, and governance aspects specific to the regional context. Among the findings, it was verified that the phenomenon of population concentration in Manaus-AM is even more significant in working-class territories, where social and environmental vulnerabilities overlap. With the exception of the Center-South Zone, all regions present high indicators of population residing in FCUs. In absolute terms, the East and North Zones stand out regarding resident population and territorial area occupied by FCUs. With respect to the conditions of access to basic sanitation services, although not exclusive to working-class territories, the most critical situations associated with water distribution, sewage disposal, and waste management are concentrated in FCUs, with the majority of cases located in the East and North Zones. Regarding geological risk, approximately 98% of the territorial area of the sectors classified as having a very high degree of geological risk are located within FCUs. The FCUs that concentrate the largest number of R4 sectors, or those with the highest number of households under this condition, are located in the East and North Zones, reinforcing the urban vulnerabilities in these regions. The results demonstrate the association between environmental and social problems in Manaus-AM, which have consolidated through multiple aspects inherent to the (re)production of inequalities within the city's historical urbanization process. This condition demands the adoption of integrated policies to ensure adequate housing for a significant portion of the population, as well as the urban and environmental improvement of the municipality.