housing problems in rio

a steep sided mountain range rising to 850m prevented growth and restricted transport. there is only a narrow coastal strip left for building so little room for expansion. access to parts of rio has been only accesible by bridge or ferry. transport by ferry is popular but has struggled to cope with the volume of commuters. the favelas are overcrowded and without adequate roads acces or public transport. people living here cannot afford the bus fares on public transprt. rapid population growth has meant that transport systems have had difficulty keeping up with demand. rio is one of the most heavily congested cities in south america wiht car ownership increasing at 8/1 househols owning a car. the streets are narrow restricting traffic flow. congestion means that daily commutes are long, large volumes of traffci cuase air and noise pollution. the subway system is limited only covering certain areas of the city. favelas have no subway coverageand few people have acces to cars due to the cost. the subway is extremely overcrowded particularly in rush hour. due to subway and bus overcrowding many people walk or cycle but as streets are poorly maintained and with a lack of lights this can often be dangerous with pothole etc.