Horto is a community of 621 families in the
South Zone of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
.
It is not officially recognized as a neighborhood. It is located in
Jardim Botânico, near
Gávea
Gávea is an affluent residential neighborhood located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It borders São Conrado, Leblon, Lagoa and Jardim Botânico neighborhoods and is famous for its high concentration of artists. ...
, and
Lagoa.
The property is worth an estimated $3.29 billion.
The community was first established in 1808 when
King João VI invited the slaves and workers building the botanical garden to live on the property.
Employees of the garden along with their families and descendants have lived there ever since.
During the
2016 Rio Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
residents of Horto were served with eviction notices; with the Garden claiming the land was needed for a research institute.
The residents felt they were being evicted due to being poor black people in a wealthy neighborhood; and no arrangements have been made for them to receive compensation or alternate housing.
Residents are planning to resist the evictions, much the way the residents of
Vila Autódromo
Vila may refer to:
People
*Vila (surname)
Places
Andorra
* Vila, Andorra, a town in the parish of Encamp
Brazil
* Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, a municipality in the State of Mato Grosso
* Vila Boa, Goiás, a municipality in the State of ...
also resisted the destruction of their
favela
Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...
.
References
Geography of Rio de Janeiro (city)
{{RiodeJaneiro-geo-stub