“At first I thought I was fighting to save the rubber trees, then I thought I was fighting to save the Amazon rainforest. Now I realize I am fighting for humanity.” -Chico Mendes (1944-1988), founder of the National Council of Rubber Tappers, Brazil

Aerial view of São Paulo, 8th largest city in the world. From the World Cities Culture Report.

Aerial view of land cleared for cattle ranching in the Amazon. Photograph by Paulo Whitaker / Reuters.

According to a 2010 study by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, 11.4 million Brazilians (6% of the country’s population) were living in favelas surrounding the country’s major cities. Image by Sara Marandos.

Sebastião Salgado’s images of the Serra Pelada, mid-1980s