Cidade de Deus (Rio de Janeiro) - Brasil

U.S. president Barack Obama in the Favela Cidade de Deus

The neighbourhood of Cidade de Deus (Portuguese pronunciation: [siˈdadʒi dʒi ˈdewʃ], City of God) is part of the borough of Jacarepaguá, in the Western Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is also known as CDD among their inhabitants.

The neighbourhood was founded in 1960, planned and executed by the state government of Guanabara as part of the policy to systematically remove favelas from the center of Rio de Janeiro and settling their inhabitants in the suburbs.

It is used as backdrop in the 2002 film City of God.

Basic statistics

• Area (2003): 1.2058 km² (0.4656 mi²; 298.0 ac)
• Population (2000): 38,016
• Residences (2000): 10,866
• Administrative Region: XXXIV - Cidade de Deus

Local currency

In 2011, a local currency called CDD was created for use exclusively in the Cidade de Deus, to encourage inhabitants to spend more locally, thus boosting the local economy. The currency is subsidized. Its value is indexed to about 20% higher than the national currency, the Brazilian real.

Brazil portal

• Cidade de Deus Web Portal (in Portuguese)
• Cidade de Deus on Google Maps
• Inside City of God - slideshow by The New York Times