Apartment City

RIO DE JANEIRO ― Seven years ago, Vila Autódromo was little more than a tranquil fishing village on the edge of Jacarepagua Lagoon, next to the racetrack for which it was named. Like the hundreds of other favelas that dot Rio de Janeiro ’s landscape, it had long been neglected by the city government , and it lacked many basic public services that are standard in the fast- growing wealthier neighborhoods just across the water. But to the more than 600 families that lived there, it was home. “This was a paradise,” said Luiz Cláudio Silva, who lived in Autódromo for more than 20 years. “I thought that I would live here for the rest of my life.” By the time the Rio Olympics are over, just 20 of the families who lived in Autódromo in 2009, the year the International Olympic Committee chose the city to host the games, will remain. The community, which sits less than a mile away from Rio’s Olympic Park, was crushed so that the city could build new access roads to connect Olympic venues . ...

DECATUR, GA -- The Decatur Housing Authority (DHA) will hold a Grand Opening Ceremony for Phases I and II of Trinity Walk, the exciting redevelopment of the former Gateway Manor and Oakview apartments in downtown Decatur, near Atlanta.  The new, affordable apartment community at 421 West Trinity Place is fully occupied and now boasts 121 one, two and three- bedroom energy - efficient apartment flats and townhomes in six contemporary, three-story buildings.  Thirty-two of the apartments were created for the elderly and/or disabled, while the remaining 89 units were designed for families.  The Grand Opening will be held at Trinity Walk on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m.  Invited guests include Decatur ’s Mayor and City Council, HUD officials, DHA staff project investors and partners and Trinity Walk residents , who worked with DHA, HUD and the City of Decatur to create a unique revitalization strategy for the redevelopment.“The former Gateway Manor development spanned two highly des...