Conflicts and accessibility in cycling infrastructure in São Paulo: the case of Bom Retiro

• Grant number: 17/20661-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Architecture and Urbanism Project
• Principal Investigator: Paula Freire Santoro
• Grantee: Gabriela Monteiro Carneiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The city of São Paulo went through an intense process of bicycle circulating infrastructure implementation on the last years, in which the mobilization of civil society appears to have played an important role. This mobilization had an impact both in the process of the mobility policy creation and in the reactions against this infrastructure implementation. In "Bom Retiro", neighborhood located in São Paulo city center, a growing mobilization of actors, like the civil society, the local commercial association and the municipal legislative, has been observed, with request for withdrawal of the infrastructure. This research focuses on exploring the dispute over the urban space in terms of the conflict between the mobility policies and the land usage on the territory where infrastructure have been implemented, particularly on the relation with the commercial use. It is proposed, therefore, to investigate the relation between bicycle lanes, cycle tracks and the territory, particularly with the local commerce, in a micro scale, through a study of socioeconomic and spatial relations present on the neighborhood, of the qualitative and quantitative conditions of existent bicycle lanes and raise hypotheses about the consequences of the interventions of creation and withdrawal of this infrastructure. Thereby, this project seeks to expand the understanding about the relation between the cycling infrastructure and the local commerce, as well as to contribute to the debate about the requests of withdrawal and creation of this infrastructure. The results will be achieved through the analysis of the cycling infrastructure in the district of "Bom Retiro", evaluating the constitution of the cycling network, the connection with other transportation modes and the relation between this infrastructure and the local commerce on the district. (AU)