The railway complex of Presidente Prudente: a study of the housing of Sorocabana Railway's workers

• Grant number: 14/10869-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2014
• End date: July 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Maria Perissinotto Baron
• Grantee: Erivelton Rossini de Souza
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research project aims to identify and map the current situation of urban and architectural ensemble of the city of Presidente Prudente, as a result from the implementation of the former Sorocabana Railway with a view to their recovery and protection. This research will bring up the combination of Railway Housing, Railway Station and Storage Spaces; however, the main focus is to study the housing of Sorocabana's workers. The identification of the original layout of the urban core and the study of the transformations suffered enables to understand the role of the railroad in the formation of the core and also allows checking the current importance of the permanence of this set to train memory and urban landscape. Actions aimed at the preservation of this heritage often identify and preserve only major buildings, ignoring the other elements, such as storage spaces and housing units. The housing complexes were established for workers who had ties with the company responsible for the Railroad and were located near the Railway Station; constructed as sets of townhouses or as single units and in some cases, had a typological hierarchy resulting from the professional function, such as the engineer's house. Understanding how this housing production began and how these complexes spaces were means rescuing a part of the history of the railroad based on the workers way of life. The railroad arrives in Presidente Prudente in 1919, before the creation of the Municipality that only occurs in 1921. The research objective is to make the identification, mapping and rescue of the railroad heritage memory, aiming at the enhancement and protection of a heritage history that played a key role in territorial development of the western state of São Paulo.