Roberto Rocco (TU Delft)
Introduction São Paulo
Lecture 1: 11-02-09
19:00-20:00 Room C
PARALLEL WORLDS LECTURE SERIES 2009

Building a
South American
Metropolis
Roberto Rocco
Chair Spatial Planning and Strategy
TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture,
Department of Urbanism and Urban Renewal

• Brazil (and LA as a whole) has entered a new demographic
phase. Birth rates are lower, the population is mostly urban
(+88%).
• Many cities must face historically produced problems, the
result of decades of strong demographic pressure
(migration), poor governance and lack of effective planning
strategies.
• Meanwhile, a new economic scenario (globalisation?) is
creating new urban form and structures. Human activity is
differently distributed over the territory.
• Here I try to describe some urban processes originated or
connected to migration processes

1. What IS São Paulo today
2. Historical origins and growth
process
3. Most relevant problems today
4. Some relevant sites (ideas)

Lima
Salvador
Brasilia
Belo Horizonte
Rio
Asuncion
Curitiba Sao Paulo
Cordoba Porto Alegre
Santiago Montevideo
Buenos Aires

Rank Country GDP (PPP) $m
GDP per country PPP — World 61,006,604
— European Union 12,626,921
1 United States 12,409,465
World Bank (2006) 2 China 8,572,666a
3 Japan 3,943,754
4 India 3,815,553b
5 Germany 2,417,537
6 United Kingdom 1,926,809
7 France 1,829,559
8 Italy 1,667,753
9 Brazil 1,627,262
10 Russia 1,559,934
11 Spain 1,133,539
12 Canada 1,061,236
13 South Korea 1,056,094
14 Mexico 1,052,443
15 Indonesia 847,415
16 Australia 643,066
17 Turkey 612,312
18 Argentina 558,755
19 South Africa 557,971b
20 Thailand 549,265
21 Iran 540,207
22 Netherlands 537,675
23 Poland 533,552
24 Philippines 408,637

41 Estonia 16,414 2004
42 Kuwait 16,301 2004
GDP per capita PPP
43 Slovakia 16,041 2004
44 Saudi Arabia 15,229 2004
45 Saint Kitts and Nevis 14,649 2003
46 Trinidad and Tobago 14,258 2002
47 Lithuania 14,158 2004
48 Argentina 14,109 2001
49 Poland 12,994 2003
50 Mauritius 12,895 2004
51 Latvia 12,666 2004
52 Croatia 12,324 2004
IMF (2005)
53 South Africa 12,161 2004
54 Seychelles 12,059 2003
55 Chile 11,937 2004
56 Libya 11,624 2003
57 Antigua and Barbuda 11,523 2004
58 Botswana 11,41 2003
59 Malaysia 11,201 2004
60 Russia 11,041 2004
61 Uruguay 10,72 2004
62 Costa Rica 10,434 2000
63 Mexico 10,186 2000
64 Bulgaria 9,223 2004
65 Romania 8,785 2004
66 Brazil 8,561 2004
67 Thailand 8,368 2004

GDP PPP compared

GDP Per Capita PPP
compared

Top ten FDI host economies
in 2000 (US$ mi)source: UNCTAD, 2004
FDI inflow 2000

Composition of the economy
Agriculture Industry Services
USA 0.9% 20.4% 78.6%
Netherlands 2.1% 23.9% 73.9%
Germany 0.9% 29.1% 70%
Argentina 9.5% 35.8% 54.7%
Brazil 8% 38% 54%
China 11.9% 48.1% 40%

GDP per metropolitan
PPP (2005)
State of British Cities (2006)
21 Randstad: 216

São Paulo ‘in comparison’
Nordzee
Campinas
Area: 8.051 Km2
Area: 8.313 Km2
c. 2.000 urbanised
50km
Amsterdam
75km
Utrecht
Den Haag
Rotterdam
S Atlantic
SPaulo
0 10 20 0 10 20
Santos

Metropolitan Area: 8.051 km2
Urbanised Area: app. 2.000 km2
Main Municipality: 1.500 km2

São Paulo ‘in comparison
Randstad-Holland
Randstad-Holland
land Sao Paulo Metropolitan
ulo Metropolitan
l Metropolitan

Possible contrast?

Possible contrast?

Possible contrast?
Amsterdam Zuidas Amsterdam Centrum
Sao Paulo Centrum Sao Paulo Berrini Marginal

The Tordesillas Treaty 1494
In 1494, with the seal of the Pope, Portugal and Spain modestly divided
the world amongst them. Most of South and North America (then
unknown) fell out of the Portuguese share.

An Unimportant Colonial City
Rubber cycle 1890-1945
Sugarcane cycle
c.1530- 1640
Cacao cycle
c.1820-1920
Gold Cycle
c.1690- 1790
Coffee Cycle
1808-1929
In colonial times, S Paulo had very little importance.
First the sugar cane plantations in Pernambuco and then the gold digging
in Minas constituted the main colonial activities, until the arrival of
coffee plantations to the South East part of the country.

Number of
Estimate
Indians in 2000
number of
Indians in 1500
2007: c.175 million

African population
1531: First sugar cane “engenho”
Sugarcane cycle
(‘factory’)
c.1530- 1640
1537: The Church declares
Amerindians “human beings”
1550: First African slaves
Gold Cycle 1559: Significant traffic of slaves
c.1690- 1790 1720: Prohibition of Amerindian
Slavery
Cacao cycle Sugar cane cycle: 1.350.000 slaves
c.1820-1920 Gold cycle: 650.000
Coffee cycle: 250.000
Other activities (cotton, tobacco,
Coffee Cycle
domestic labour: 1.100.000
1808-1929
1888
Slavery abolition:
(700.000 slaves)
TOTAL: c. 3.300.000

‘European’ Immigration
Total immigration of Europeans (estimate after 1850): >5-7 million

Brazil Total Population (2000 Census):
169.872.856

An Unimportant Colonial City
In 1822, Brazil got
independent from
Portugal. SP gained
some importance
when the Brazilian
Imperial court
chose to place a
Law Academy in
the city in 1827.
1750:
Pop 20.000
Picture showing Benedictine Monastery and
Church and the Faculty of Law in 1860

An unimportant Colonial city

An unimportant colonial city
Eastern central area of the city in 1892 (Largo do Bixiga).
Market colonial forms.

1850:The Coffee Revolution
& industrialization Pop 31.000
1880:
The great coffee plantations
commercialise their
products in the city. The
coffee economy produces
the development of urban
activities, because it
demands a complex
Sao Paulo Railway Station (1892) is built with English organization of financing,
capitals. transport, commerce and
export.

1895
European Immigration Pop 131.000
1900
Pop 239.820
Slavery abolished, it
was necessary to
have paid labour
force. European
and Japanese
immigrants come to
the city en masse.
Workers at Textile Factory around 1910. The factory belonged to Matarazzo family
The Black population is small in the city. Freed slaves establish in peripheral areas
(later districts of the city)

European Immigration
The population of the city grows enormously:
1895: pop. 130.000
(54%of which were foreigners).
1900: pop. 239.820
(growth of 84% in 5 years!)
1900: Almost half of the population speaks Italian. Other:
Spanish and Portuguese.
1905: First Syrian and Lebanese (50.000 Lebanese until
1946)
1908: Fist Japanese (500.000 along the XX century)
1920: Armenians, Jewish, Germans, Polish, Russian
Pop in 1920: 579.000

New Urban Paradigms
Rua Direita. Central Core circa 1860.

New Urban Paradigms
The capital
generated by
coffee was (for
c. 1895 the first time in
the history of the
In 1880 the
country) re
population
invested in the
was 31.000
country itself. It
meant more and
more coffee
plantations but
also urban
transformation.
1915
In 1920 the
population
was 579.000
L. Badaro street corner
Dr Falcao st 1895 and 1915

New Urban Paradigms
The model for the new
architecture was the
French eclectic style.
Even the simplest houses
tried to emulate its
forms. In the central
core, new services are
offered.
European workforce
provide the basis for new
consumption and
architectural patterns.

Economic progress
Industry and urban change brings changes in
urban form,
structure and
economic bases.
Small industry
begins to appear
in order to tend to
the growing
agglomeration
necessities.
Workers in front of textiles factory c. 1900

A new elite comes into view
Traditional Boarding School Des Oiseaux, c. 1900
Note Art Nouveau Style. The elite is composed by rich Portuguese
landowners and enriched Italian, German and Jewish families

A new elite comes into view
The construction of a
big opera house is a
sign of the elite’s
search for a more
urban and
sophisticated life
style. Perhaps the
biggest sign of change
in mentalities.
Anhangabau 1914 Opera House

A new elite comes into view
Anhangabaú Valley in 1915, with Opera House and Hotel

The elite seeks new spaces
The opening of Aveninda
Paulista, some kilometers
away from the central
core, signified a major
change in urban structure.
At the time of its
inauguration, it was
considered a “faraway”
refuge for the wealthy.
The names of families
who owned houses in the
Avenue shows not only
Portuguese landowners
(The Coffee Barons) but
also Italian, German and
Jewish industrialists,
lawyers and traders.
Avenida Paulista c. 1902

The ‘European’ city
Anhangabaú Valley c. 1915

The ‘European’ city
Central Cinema, c. 1916

The ‘European’ city
Patriarch Square c. 1925

The ‘European’ city
Patriarch Place in 1925.

The ‘European’ city
Anhangabaú Valley, 1927

The ‘European’ City
Anhangabaú Valley c. 1932

Central Business District
15 Novembro Street, c. 1915

Central Business District
15 de Novembro Street c. 1906

New urban facilities:
The Central Market
New City Market 1933 AE

New mentalities: the urban man
In 1940 the
pop reached
1.32 million
In a country still
predominantly
agrarian, the
surge of a
metropolis
represented the
appearance of a
new kind of
mentality and life
style.
Sao Joao Avenue with Martinelli Building 1937

The urban man
Anhangabau Valley in 1929.

The urban man
Sao Jose Cinema in 1929

The urban man
Central Post Office Agency in 1938

Urban Problems
Tramway at Cathedral Square in 1937

Immigration: 2nd WW
1940:
Pop 1.32
million
In the 40’s, the city
population reaches
its first million.
Thousands of
refugees arrive from
Eastern Europe
(Poland, Ukraine),
Germany (Jews, but
also Germans) and
Italian.
After 1950,
European
immigration
decreases.
edding in an Italian Family in 1940 (Bela Vista)

After WW II: The new prominence
of the USA in the
New Urban Paradigm
international arena
shifts paradigms. New
urban models come
from the North. The
belief in “progress”
and the Fordist model
of production asks for
new Urban Form and
Structure.
Beginning of massive
internal migration.
Anhangabau Valley in 1949

After WW II:
New migration trends & new urbanity
Sao Joao Avenue 1951 1950
Pop: 2.19 m

After WW II:
New migration trends & new urbanity
São João Avenue (Rua Líbero Badaró) 1952

After WW II: New Urban Paradigm
The adoption of
more and more
buses instead
of tramways
allows the
sprawling of
the city to
distant
peripheries.
Newly arrived
migrants
establish
themselves in
those
peripheries.
Tram 55 and bus 74 in Casa Verde District, 1953

After WW II:
New Urban Paradigm

After WW II: New Urban Paradigm
Anhangabau Av Prestes Maia c1950

After WW II: New Urban Paradigm
Anhangabau Valley and Tiradentes Ave c. 1948

After WW II: New Urban Paradigm
São João Avenue 60’s

Consequences of Rapid Growth

1960’s Major
Internal Migrations
Rubber cycle 1890-1945
Sugarcane cycle
c.1530- 1640
1960
Pop: 3.7 m
Cacao cycle
c.1820-1920
Gold Cycle
c.1690- 1790
Coffee Cycle
Industrial Era 1970
1808-1929
Pop: 5.9 m

Population growth municipality SP

Slums
Paraisopolis, the second biggest favela in Sao Paulo, houses approximately 60.000 people
(Delft= 120.000).

Slums
The State is absent from the space of
the ‘favela’.
Its inhabitants have their own laws.
The community is controlled by one
drug dealer who uses many of the
dwellers as his “employees”.
He himself lives in a luxury
condominium. Drugs must not be used
inside the space of the ‘favela’. They
are mainly sold to the rich dwellers of
the buildings. They come from Bolivia
and Colombia, in their way to USA and
Europe. Notice parabolic antennas.

Military Rule (1964 1986)
In 1964, while a social
democrat was
president, a military
coup d’etat took
place. Elections were
abolished. The mayor
of the city and all fist
echelon staff would be
indicated by the
Brasilia. Institutions
were shattered.
Planning the city
became a matter of
social control.
Cathedral Square in 1969

1930- 1973:
Economical Growth
through import substitution policies
building up an internal market
through:
Direct public investment in heavy industry and
infrastructure (State owned) +
. subsidies for strategic sectors +
. strong labour: workers are protected:
Unions are strong where industry is.
(Workers are weak where old colonial and
post colonial structures subsist)

1973: The oil crisis
Explosion of External Debt (International Interest Rates Rocket)
Growth is based on increase of debt + corruption + bad management
Inflation (directly linked to the oil prices raises)
Depression of commodity prices (in Brazil: resulted in internal migrations)
1979: The Debt Interest Rates crisis
Growth comes to a sudden hault. :
25% industry 20% unemployment
1980’s: The “lost decade”
Lost of investment capacity by the State
Recurrence to increasing international DEBT
Hyperinflation
Chronic unemployment

70 and 80’s:
Bad Management Environmental Decay

70 and 80’s:
Bad Management+Social polarization

70 and 80’s: 1970
Pop: 5.94 mi
Bad Management
1980
Social polarization Pop: 8.49 mi

80’s: congestion
The ‘decadence’ of the old core

Avenida Paulista:
The new centrality

Avenida Paulista: Elites go West

Paulista Av.

MASP
Art Museum of Sao Paulo

Decaying living
conditions and
squatting in the
Centre

Meanwhile in the old centre:
Sao Vito Building

Sao Vito Building
• The building houses 510 families or
1200 people
• Floors: 28
• (25 type floors, auditorium and
grand salon in the last floor, 15
commercial units in the first floor
and 13 in the second floor)
• 624 apartments
• Only 30% of dwellers pay
administration costs monthly
• 423 apartments are illegaly
occupied
• 201 apartments are occupied by
owners

Typical Floor Plan
11
28 m2
10
09
12 13 14 15 16 18 19 20
17
08
1.2 m
07
23 22 21
04 03 02 01 24
06
05

Sao Vito Building

Sao Vito Building

Sao Vito Building
\" Sao Vito “, May 2003, a vertical condominium occupied by 1200 poor
people. External View. (c) Contrasto

Sao Vito Building
Internal View of an apartment. May 2003.

Sao Vito Building
Internal View of an apartment. May 2003.

Sao Vito Building

Sao Vito Building

Some Social-Spatial Indicators

Homogeneous
Zones

Census 2000:
1. Whites (68,0%),
2. Coloureds (25,0%),
3. Blacks (5,1 % ),
4. Asian (2,0%)
5. Amerindians (0,2%).

90’s Emigration:
Centre looses almost 20% of pop.
Causes:
1. Low birth rate (national
trend)
2. Deconcentration of industrial
production
3. Disappointment with
lifestyle/housing/economic
opportunities
4. Cost of life (plots are
cheaper in outside
municipalities)
In the 90’s, the population of the
city decreased in 600.000

Human Development
Compared

Irregular occupation of
urban land
Area covered
by irregular
occupations is
338,8 km2, or
22,5% of the
total area of
the
municipality
(1500 km2)

Social Vulnerability Scale
% of the wealth of the
poorest 50% in relation
to the richest 50%
No serious vulnerability
Low vulnerability
Middle vulnerability
High vulnerability
Very high vulnerability
Parks, green areas,
dams and inhabited
places

Favela Paraisopolis

Paraisopolis
Favelas

Other Favelas:
Human and Ecological Hazard

Old and New Centralities

The South-west Zone

Avenida Faria Lima

The New Corporate Axis

The New Corporate Axis
The New Corporate Axis does not have all functions typical to central areas.
Its form is linear, an axis along the Pinheiros River, including some important
transversal avenues.

The New Corporate Axis

The New Corporate Axis

Corporate Axis

New Solutions for the Periphery

New solutions for peripheries
The Municipality PT Labour Party), tries to intervene in the peripheries by installing massive education, culture and
sports equipment, all gathered in large complexes known as CEU. There are about 12 of them already.

New solutions for peripheries

New solutions for peripheries
Jardim Pantanal, Tiete River Bassin. Meyer: 267

New solutions for peripheries

Old Centre Revitalisation

Meanwhile in the Old Centre:
Central Area Regeneration

Downtown Regeneration

Downtown Regeneration
COPAN
building,
designed by
Oscar
Niemeyer in
the late 50`s

Fabrica Pompeia
Architect Lina Bo Bardi

Pinacoteca
Architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha

Pinacoteca

Pinacoteca

Pinacoteca

Pinacoteca

Sala Sao Paulo
Architects
Nelson Dupré & Ismael Solé

Downtown Regeneration

Centro Viejo

Centro Viejo

New Peripheral Centralities
Guarulhos Centre (International Airport of Sao Paulo)

New Peripheral Centralities
Alphaville (Edge City Development)

New internal migrations:
Conformation of a macro metropolis

A Global Macrometropolis

r.c.rocco@tudelft.nl