Rocinha has for years been one of Rio de Janeiro’s safest favelas. Its descent into internecine bloodshed is indicative of how much the city has unraveled.

In Rocinha, the gang warfare became so bad that the state called in the army for a week in September. Since then, heavily armed special police forces have patrolled the favela.

Rocinha doesn’t yet have a UPP, or police pacification unit. Each of the city’s 19 units have been installed only after a territory is fully in control of the Rio police — certainly not the case here.

Explore Rio's largest favela, Rocinha, and meet some of the people who live and work in the city within a city.

Illegal and unplanned settlements will grow in cities everywhere as urbanization accelerates. Digital technology can help residents connect to services they need. Finding your way through Rocinha ...

But Rocinha’s home-grown businesses, most of which started out illegally – or “informally” as the owners like to say – are also growing fast. Apart from the tourist trade, ...

David Shukman takes a walk through the streets of Brazil's largest favela, Rocinha, to see how life has changed there since the original Rio Earth Summit in 1992.