Images in dispute: Olympic Rio and Vila Autódromo

Abstract

A series of international mega-events between 2007 and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, for the purpose of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, crushed the city like a steamroller. In order to promote the image of Rio de Janeiro as an international scenario for big events, constant rips, demolitions, evictions, and destructions were put into effect. At the same time, Rio was offered for internal and external investments and an intense real estate speculation took place. This paper intends to question and make critically visible the process of violent urban transformations occurred in the city during this period. Specifically, on the matter of the evictions that took place in Vila Auto?dromo, a small neighboring community of the Olympic Park. By focusing on Vila Auto?dromo, the role of cartography, photography, and new tools of representations and urban visualization, such as Google Earth, Google Maps and Google Street View, is discussed, concerning their relation to the construction and dispute of the city image.