This article brings the contemporary thinking and practice of Urban Environmental Management (UEM) to the solution of current and persistent environmental problems in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro. With more than 84% of Brazil’s population living in cities, it is the 2<sup>nd</sup> most populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the 6<sup>th</sup> most populous city in the Americas. Part of Rio de Janeiro is designated as a World Heritage Site. Rio de Janeiro has the second largest municipal GDP in the country and 30<sup>th</sup> largest in the world in 2008. It is also a polluted metropole plagued by serious environmental problems. The article first considers the context of Rio, and then reviews issues of poverty alleviation, industry, energy, transportation, wastewater & solid waste, water and finance. Finally, it proposes a 5-year Plan to help alleviate the city’s urban environmental problems by utilizing a real-world database and working within Brazil’s financial institutions.
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