Title: What Is a Favela? Five Things to Know About Rio's So-Called Shantytowns
Headings: What Is a Favela? Five Things to Know About Rio's So-Called Shantytowns
What Is a Favela? Five Things to Know About Rio's So-Called Shantytowns
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1. The popularity of the word 'favela' has its roots in wartime.
2. Favelas grew because of migration into the city.
3. Favelas have become synonymous with slum life.
4. Favelas have been featured in films and drawn prominent visitors.
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5. In a twist, some favelas are being used to boost tourism.

Content: The government moved in to force the migrants out and into more adequate housing in "proletarian parks," but the initiative failed to eradicate the settlements. During the 1960s, the government again tried to wipe out the favelas, particularly ones near popular tourist destinations. While some of them were eliminated, others only expanded after displaced people moved in. 3. Favelas have become synonymous with slum life. Today, there are an estimated 1,000 favelas in Rio, and they are home to about 1.5 million people, or close to 24 percent of the city's population, according to the Catalytic Communities, an advocacy NGO. The favelas are diverse — some have rudimentary infrastructure, while others have homes hooked up to electricity with phones and computers. Police Pacification Unit officers patrol next to a mural of dancer Douglas Rafael da Silva Pereira in the pacified Pavao-Pavaozinho community at the start of an investigation into the death of Pereira on May 26, 2014, in Rio. Mario Tama / Getty Images, file
"Most favelas lack effective sewage systems, access to potable water and waste management systems," according to the advocacy group The Borgen Project. " The communities have become so densely built up, that modern roads and utilities are nearly impossible to install."