Central areas housing: problems, policies and possibilities

• Grant number: 12/05078-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal Investigator: Maria Cristina da Silva Schicchi
• Grantee: Ligya Hrycylo Bianchini
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas, Ambientais e de Tecnologias. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (PUC-CAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Boosted by coffee economy, the center of Sao Paulo acquired the character of centrality already during the first decades of the twentieth century. After the beginning of the occupation of the central areas by trade and services, the expansion of the city occurred in a quick and disordered way, with the occupation of flood plains and hillsides, disregarded by wealthier people, beginning a process of social segregation with the occupation of substandard houses. On the other hand, the intense activity in the central area has attracted a people from the country, in a period when industrial production gained momentum. This population, largely composed by immigrants without conditions to own or rent a property close to the job, had to resort to the tenements as the only way to settle in the city. However, from the 70's on the central area sees a declining number of residents, with the relocation of the financial activities to other centralities, starting new neighborhoods for higher income people leaving many buildings empty or scarcely used.The study will first research and present the current state of social housing in downtown Sao Paulo, then become more analytical, reviewing the current literature on recent experiences in addressing the problem, involving analysis of projects, plans and programs applied in other cities, evaluation, in some aspects compared, aiming to offer new horizons for the discussion of the issue. (AU)