This is a loose collection of photographs about housing and urban development issues in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Many of the photographs are related to informal urban development and urban sprawl. While much is written about the crime and poverty endemic to squatter settlements, the realities of everyday life are often lost in the headlines.

Many squatters are hard-working citizens who, through lack of education or poor job opportunities, are forced to work in low-paying jobs and do not earn enough to rent or purchase a legal home. The vast majority are not criminals and are merely looking for a safe place to live. As one squatter living under high-tension power lines in a favela in Sao Paulo told me, “my dream is to have a legal address”.