Favelas

Favelas grew from emergency housing into a permanent fixture the city decided to ignore. The residents built water lines, informal power grids, and supply networks entirely outside official infrastructure. Street crews here are deeply embedded in community structure — not just running protection but providing actual services. Outside authority is uniformly unwelcome. The Resistance has deep roots here. Prospect has repeatedly surveyed the land for rezoning and repeatedly concluded the cost-benefit doesn't work.

Architecture

Unrendered brick walls (cost was the reason; the aesthetic became the identity), wooden and corrugated metal inserts, exterior staircases that become roof bridges at the third floor. Steep terraced access routes with concealed branching paths at each landing. Roof-to-roof wooden walkway systems between buildings. Dense overhead cable infrastructure — power, data, improvised clothesline. Rooftop gardens and night markets at the upper levels.

In the City

Local family networks govern ground level. Street Gangs are embedded in community structure — providing actual services alongside enforcement. Red Scorpions hold specific structural positions. Smaller cult groups occupy the less accessible upper sections. Key sites: Scorpion Steps (main vertical axis — long terraced stairway with concealed branching routes and observation posts at each landing), Roof Links (upper-level walkway system — wooden bridges between rooftops, night markets for established residents only, a city-view that requires knowing the route to reach).