they were intended to have a supply of electricity, a good water supply and sewer pipes. on top of this, residential security guards were to be employed to reduce crimes which were and are rife throughout the favelas in brazil. much of the work was to be done by the residents of the favelas themselves, the project being dubbed a 'self-help' project. the existing favelas were to be cleared and building materials provided for the builders for free. one of the major difficulties in building on the sites of the favelas was the large slopes on which they are built. this difficult terrain was the only reason the owners of the land did not use it. levelling the land was very expensive and eventually proved too expensive; only a tenth of the proposed apartments were completed, with the focus being on residents living on marginal land, like floodplains.