area 114 | São Paulo

Marco Casamonti: We often have a superficial vision of São Paulo; a big problem consists of the old town, which is very beautiful but hard to renovate, and then the traffic, the quality of life. In this context we would like to hear the opinion of the person in charge of the government of the territory, to really understand the problems of the city and the structure and strategy of its management. How is it possible to allow the city to transform itself...Does a town plan, which you call Piano Director, exist?
Elisabete França: Certainly, a Town Plan exists, it was approved in 2002, is currently being revised by the urban development council, and will soon be voted on by the Municipal Junta. The Municipal housing plan is still being discussed, and will be submitted for approval in the first half of 2011.
M.C.: Is it an instrument sufficient to solve the problems of such a large city?
E.F.: It is an important instrument, even if it only suggests the general guidelines. What we need in São Paulo is the creation of a town planning culture, a culture which is still too weak for a city of metropolitan dimensions. The town plan provides very general guidelines as, for instance, the prohibition of occupying areas that are protected for environmental reasons, incentives for the occupation of central areas, or the expansion of growth towards specific areas. The plan is supplemented by a law on the use and occupation of the land based on occupation coefficients and indexes, in order to render it complete and homogeneous. Miguel Bucalem, Council Chairman for urban development, is currently promoting the so-called Urban Operations, an intervention instrument based on the identification of specific urban areas and the selection of architecture firms for the development of adequate projects.
Ever since 2005 the urban administration has launched the Nuova Luz project, which concerns the urban areas near the Luz railway station. With this initial attempt one has sought to outline a town plan for a predefined area, a central district in São Paulo characterized by the presence of precarious buildings. An architecture firm which combines local professionals and international experiences has been chosen; it operates on the basis an exchange of experiences with the situations of other cities. In urban interventions we prioritize a participation of the private sector in order to obtain the financial resources necessary to realize the planned projects. We may say that these initial experiences represent a step ahead with respect to the town planning strategies of the past.
M.C.: This is a problem characterizing many cities, that town planning and architecture remain separate disciplines and contexts. Is there a special office which is responsible for the downtown areas, or does the same office control the town plans for all São Paulo?
E.F.: All the town planning functions related to the city are currently concentrated in the Council for Urban Development. There is also a body called Subprefeitura da Sé in charge of the centre of São Paulo, but it does not perform any functions within the context of town planning.
M.C.: Those who visit the city find it very strange that a large part of the city of São Paulo appears to be uninhabited, for instance in the centre, where there are completely empty buildings. Many citizens do not have a dwelling, and many buildings remain empty, it is a very strange phenomenon.
E.F.: A project is about to be introduced, for central São Paulo, called Renova Centro, aimed at the renovation of empty buildings in the central area, to transform them in condominiums. In 2009 the municipal administration entrusted the Foundation for the Support of Research of the University of São Paulo with the conduction of a census of all empty buildings in the old town, preparatory to the project. 200 buildings have thus been identified; 53 of them have been recognized as suitable for renovation and the municipality has already launched the expropriation measures. The housing politics Council is now proceeding with the acquisition of these 53 buildings to turn them into low-income condominiums, and thus to provide about 2,500 new dwellings in the central area. The impression that the centre of São Paulo is deserted may be a consequences of the numerous real estate properties available for rent, as shown by the indexes of vacant buildings for rent in the region. In addition to the restoration of buildings, the Municipality is also planning the construction of more than 4,000 dwellings within the context of the Nuova Luz project; as a result we will within a short period of time provide a total of 6,000 new dwellings in the downtown area. For the first time in the history of the city the Municipal administration is adopting measures aimed at the occupation of the central area. It is clear that the purchase of old buildings may prove to be an arduous enterprise due to impediments of various kinds, as inheritances or family disputes, or the lack of information on the ownership.
M.C.: Who has made this study, a professor? E.F.: The investigation has been conducted by FUPAM, the Foundation for the Support of Research of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of São Paulo.
M.C.: One of the most serious problems of São Paulo is the traffic. Is there a plan to build a new underground and a strategy to reduce the traffic?
E.F.: The public transport strategies adopted in the city are aimed at the integration of all transport modes (underground, train, transport on wheels) in order to improve the accessibility of the metropolitan region more and more. However, in a city where there is a car for every two inhabitants, one should focus on changing the cultural and behavioural models of the inhabitants.
M.C.: One strategy which is used in Europe consists of avoiding the excessive growth of the city by preferring to build within its limits. Metropolises as London and Amsterdam have recently tried to discover and reuse areas that are empty or in disuse, thus avoiding to build outside the city limits and limiting traffic in the city.
E.F.: We are also moving in this direction, in order to prevent the expansion of the city towards its outskirts, also because this would mean, in a city like São Paulo, to occupy regions rich in natural resources or with a high environmental impact.
M.C.: When we prepared the issue of Area dedicated to London we interviewed the Mayor, who told us that to solve the problem of car traffic, the municipality had decided not to build any more parking spaces, in order to force the citizens to use only public transport.
E.F.: The problem of parking areas is a central issue. In a city where there is no abundance of areas for the building of dwellings, it is impossible to meet the demand for parking spaces. We have therefore adopted the following policy: to prioritize the construction of dwellings without parking areas, but with an easy access to public transport, for instance by building bicycle paths. Certainly, there has been plenty of criticism, but we have few alternatives: either one builds dwellings without having to worry about parking spaces, or one does not build at all. The Municipal housing plan features the delivery of 800,000 new dwellings by 2024, and this would have required an area of 40,000 sq km.
We have therefore adopted the “principle of the elevator” and not that of the garage. And we are searching for all those areas that may be transferred in residential districts, both central and on the city outskirts, fully exploiting the available building potential.
M.C.: Your office mainly focuses on housing, on low-income dwellings.
E.F.: That is correct, but speaking of low-income dwellings does not only mean to build houses, it also means to solve the problems associated with the precarious settlements, as favelas and unauthorized developments. There are today no less than 3 million inhabitants in São Paulo who live in precarious conditions, for instance in areas exposed to floods or landslides, without sewers or located near water courses. The Municipal Administration feels that it carries an enormous responsibility for these families, and the program aimed at urbanizing the favelas is therefore today the priority of the Council for Housing Politics. The program has been defined on the basis of an awareness that the dwellings built by the occupants themselves are part of the assets of the resident families, and that the installation of basic infrastructures may therefore transform these formerly precarious areas into neighbourhoods that are completely integrated in the urban tissue, without requiring any relocation of the inhabitants.
M.C.: We have had a meeting with a large Brazilian enterprise, the OAS, which is interested in working on the Minha Casa Minha vida social housing project. The cost of these dwellings is very low, and so is the quality. Why does the government allocate so little funds and why does it not aim for a higher quality? These are houses built only in concrete, without thermal insulation.
E.F.: It is a matter of a program developed by the Federal Government in 2008, during a period of worldwide economic crisis, whose objective is to promote the use of the industry in civil constructions. However, the fact that a single model has been adopted for the whole country makes it hard to implement in a reality as that of São Paulo, where the cost of land, of building materials and all the elements in the production chain are much higher than in other Brazilian cities. The program is currently being modified in order to meet the requirements of the most important Brazilian cities and thus to make a large-scale implementation possible. The purpose of the municipal administration is to build districts, not only with dwelling units. We are, in this sense, investing in a project articulated in non-standardized buildings. We have adopted the model of the small condominium, with public spaces and leisure facilities.
M.C.: A public programme?
E.F.: We have participated in an exhibition at the Rotterdam Biennial, and in January this exhibition will be presented in London. Elisabetta Romano, professor of Architecture at the Polytechnic of Milan, originally from Brazil, is taking steps to move it also to the Lombard capital, by the first half of 2011.
M.C.: Are you responsible not just for the municipality of São Paulo, but also for the small municipalities around it?
E.F.: The Metropolitan Region of São Paulo and the other minor cities are under the responsibility of the Government of the State of São Paulo, we only intervene on the municipal territory. The new Governor has recently created a Secretariat for coordinating the work agenda for the metropolitan areas of the State of São Paulo.
M.C.: In a city of this size the greatest problem is that of mobility.
E.F.: We are witnessing an overpricing of the areas near the underground network, as the users are becoming more and more aware of the necessity of avoiding to use individual transport.
M.C.: Your office is responsible for public housing. Is there another department for private housing? E.F.: The building of private homes takes place autonomously, within the scenario of the standards and regulations established by the local administration in accordance with the Town Plan.
M.C.: Today the public administration in Italy and Europe no longer have any money, and even low-income housing is sponsored by private operators. The municipality asks them to build dwellings at much lower costs than the market prices. What is the Brazilian situation?
E.F.: Our private sector finds it hard to deal with families with a monthly income inferior to 3 minimum wages, about 670 Euro, and it therefore principally operates in the upper-bracket market, which has access to bank funds. Low-income families need high subsidies, and it is therefore the public administration that is responsible for this part of the deficit. This does not mean that we do not look for alternatives to attract the real estate market; the program of the Federal Government represents only one of the possible attempts.
M.C.: What is the global strategy of the city? To build outside or inside?
E.F.: To build everywhere where it is possible to do so. And we are therefore conducting vast researches for possible areas, both in the centre and elsewhere. The private sector is already implementing many interventions in the central areas. The city does not have any more opportunities to expand, as it is surrounded by areas that are protected for environmental or geological reasons. Its only alternative is therefore to grow vertically.
M.C.: Do you work with the mobility office?
E.F.: Yes, and we do so thanks to the coordination between the different Councils.
M.C.: 90% of Brazilian architects produce a very commercial architecture, while the best ones are 103 years old! Many office buildings resemble concrete boxes rather than architecture, the pressure of the market and of money is so strong that the quality becomes very low.
E.F.: Many of our projects are much better than the ones present in the market!

Elisabete França è Soprintendente della Segreteria per le Abitazioni nella Prefettura di San Paolo.