Urban growth and expansion in recent decades has led to a proliferation of slums across the world. According to a report produced by the United Nations Human Settlements Program, residents of slums constitute 78.2% of the urban population of less economically developed countries (LDCs), and make up a third of the total urban population. At least half of this population is estimated to be made up of young people under the age of 20.

while favelas highlight social inequality, unemployment, poverty and violence, the culture that emerges from peripheral urban areas has played a hugely influential and important role in Brazil's wider social cultural development.

Creative culture emerging from the favelas of Rio can be seen in inititatives such as Grupo Cultural AfroReggae  (AfroReggae Cultural Group) and Observatório de Favelas (Observatory of Favelas).