The tax policy had the support of the medical academic community, whose members were deeply concerned by endemic diseases caused by living conditions in these complexes - The new governmental decree, however, augmented the process of 'favelization,' displacing workers to the city's hills.

as a result, the empire facilitated the construction of healthy housing settlements, called vilas operárias and vilas higiênicas, by offering developers the right to take lands and dismantle existing Cortiços and the elimination of import taxes on construction materials.

Between 1870 and 1890, the population of metropolitan rio de janeiro doubled from 235,000 to 522,000 - This unprecedented population expansion, coupled with widespread poverty, worsened the housing problems that had existed since the first half of the century - Conditions were most severe in the center of the city where epidemics of yellow fever, smallpox and cholera took root, and stray dogs paroled the streets.