Challenges of rapid urbanisation in Sao Paulo

Use this ppt as you go through the notes to help you. Sometimes it’ll just be a case of having bigger, colour versions of the photos and maps in your notes. Sometimes, additional photos will be included to give you more of a feel for this city.

A city of contrasts…

Jardim Paulista, near the centre…

…Jardim Angela, near the edge

Growth & sprawl of Sao Paulo

1905

1949

19741997

It’s possible to divide the growth of Sao Paulo into three time periods. Where would you place the sections?

The rapid growth has not only resulted in the outward sprawling of the city, but it has also put tremendous pressure on the authorities to keep infrastructure improvements at the same pace as population and city growth.

Challenges of rapid urbanisation:

1. Informal Settlements

As this table shows, the favelas have been growing at a faster rate than the city as a whole.

The speed of their expansion has made it very difficult for local authorities in Sao Paulo to be able to keep on to of the infrastructure improvements that are required in the favelas.

For example, just how many health and safety rules are being broken in this picture?

Watch the video of the news report of life in the favelas (found in the Geography Department website) to get a sense of why there is such a need for upgrading in the favelas.

The need for upgrading

Sao Paulo City Favelas

1980-90 22.9% 120.6%

1991-2000 15.7% 57.9%

Percentage increase in population

Cingapura Scheme

About twenty years ago, the municipality developed a slum demolition-and-redevelopment program, nicknamed Cingapura (the Portuguese pronunciation of Singapore).  Cingapura draws its architectural inspiration from the same thinking that inspired the likes of Divis in Belfast — a sense that what’s wrong with the neighbourhood is the grotty houses people have built for themselves, and the solution is in new, proper, publicly constructed mid-rises and high-rises.

Look carefully at the following photos to get a sense of what the Cingapura scheme is like.

Cingapura Scheme

Cingapura Scheme What services do you notice that these flats are equipped with?

Cingapura Scheme What services do you notice that these flats are equipped with?

What services do you notice that these flats are equipped with?

Upgrading exisiting favelas

After the failure of the Cingapura scheme, the more recent approach has been to upgrade exisitng favelas.

These photos are of an upgrading scheme that’s located beside a Cingapura scheme. Notice carefully the differences. The next slides show a series of before and after photos. Compare and contrast them, adding annotation to the photos in your handouts.

Cingapura schemeUpgraded favela

Upgrading favelas

Upgrading favelasCompare before with after

Upgrading favelasCompare before with after

Upgrading favelasCompare before with after

The same drain

The locals were consulted about the scheme before it was started. Here, they are being asked to vote on which one of three variations should go ahead. Why is this consultation so important to the future success of the upgrading scheme?

Compare these shots of the locals taking care of their environment with the shots of the general environment of Divis from the Belfast case study.

Challenges of rapid urbanisation:

2. Service Provisioni. Traffic infrastructure & congestion

Just how would you get traffic flowing again here?!?

Traffic jams are so bad that Sao Paulo has the second highest number of

helicopters per person in any city in the world. The following photos give you

some examples of how the helicopters operate within Sao Paulo city.

Note the blue heli-pads on top of many of the taller buildings.

It takes only 7 minutes to fly from Alphaville, an up-market residential area on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, to Avenida Paulista, the financial heart of the city. To cover the same distance by car could take up to 2 hours

It takes only 7 minutes to fly from Alphaville, an up-market residential area on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, to Avenida Paulista, the financial heart of the city. To cover the same distance by car could take up to 2 hours

Some top executives avoid moving around Sao Paulo on land, fearing mugging and even kidnapping. They also estimate that the time they waste in traffic jams costs them more than the use or even ownership of a helicopter.

The general manager of an international hotel chain invites his friends to fly to the golf club in central Sao Paulo, where they will play in the tournament.

An helicopter approaches Helipark on the outskirts of the city.

A private helicopter sits on its helipad at a businessman's house on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

Challenges of rapid urbanisation:

2. Service Provisionii. The challenge of education

Note carefully the spatial pattern of educational attainment in the city.

Challenges of rapid urbanisation:

3. Economic Activityi. Spatial distribution of

employment opportunities

i. Spatial distribution of employment opportunities

Jobs/inhabitant

Use this map to help you complete the task in your notes