Elements for a bioethical analysis of the recent urban changes in Rio de Janeiro from a globalization perspective

Abstract

The current urban changes existing in the city of Rio de Janeiro, related to the Olympic Games and the World Cup, indicated by the term revitalization, present social consequences due to evictions of residents of slum and urban areas. The aim of this paper is to identify the elements for a bioethical analysis of the conflicts correlated to urban transformations - illustrated by the Wonder Harbor Urban Operation - and contextualized in the phenomenon of Globalization. We point out the general aspects of the globalization phenomenon and its background - the civilization process - as well as its urban implications. We show that underlying the term revitalization is the process of gentrification. As an analytic focus to the bioethics applied in Brazil, we propose the processes of resistance found in urban conflicts, specifically with regards to protection and intervention.