water and energy distribution were made available to a large portion of the favela, however  growth was still disorderly, services typically insufficient, and fights between the community and the city were a common occurrence.

the residents' efforts and initiatives were finally successful and rocinha started the remarkable development process that later earned it the status of 'neighborhood.'  on july 18th 1993 rocinha was officially declared a 'bairro.' a copy of rocinha's 'birth certificate' can be seen on this link.

the uncontrolled growth of the area was then limited as of 2001, when the city administration implemented stricter controls and a plan called 'eco-limites,' aimed at safeguarding both the neighborhood and the nature around it - rocinha is now divided into over 24 sub-neighborhoods - each sub-neighborhood has a distinct identity and often quite different from one another. some contain middle-income homes and have access to all services, while others only group shaky wooden shelters in unsafe positions.