The Morar Carioca program is essentially a continuation of the Favela-Bairro program which ran from 1995 until about 2008.

Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the program in July of 2010, describing it as part of the social legacy of the 2016 Olympics to continue upgrades to all of the favelas in Rio before the year 2020, including a complete integration in the rest of the city.

The Morar Carioca program is set to function alongside the major improvements being implemented by the Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento, or PAC.

While the PAC was installing high-visibility upgrades such as the entrance bridge in rocinha designed by Oscar Niemeyer and the cable car lift for residents of complexo do alemão, the favelas were still in great need of comprehensive solutions to many of the unaddressed internal challenges which they continued to face.