Google Brings You into Rio’s Favelas in an Interactive 360-Degree Video

A two-year collaboration between Google and Brazilian organization Grupo Cultural AfroReggae has yielded an incredible look inside Rio de Janeiro’s favelas. Oft reported as crime-filled shantytowns, the favelas are home to somewhere between a fifth and a quarter of Rio’s population, though they are not recognized by the government and are left off official maps. Despite their reputation, the favelas are filled with innovative residents, many of whom have started thriving businesses within the towns. Rio: Beyond the Map seeks to tell the stories of the people in these communities through an interactive 360-degree video documentary that takes you zipping around on the back of a motorcycle and introduces you to the fascinating people and places inside the neighborhoods. (And you thought plain old Street View was cool.) Video project aside, the collaboration has also mapped 26 favelas—and 10,000 businesses within them—bringing them to Google Maps for the very first time. But with over 1,000 favelas in Rio, there’s plenty more work to be done. beyondthemap.withgoogle.com