São Paulo

A Presentation On A Big City

Joe Blakey & Aisha Kamal

 Location
São Paulo is in the largest, richest and
one of the oldest cities in Brazil. It is
located to the south east of Brazil, in
the continent of South America in the
southern hemisphere. It is often
referred to as the richest country in the
Third World.
It’s a compact urban area, with a
population density twice that of Paris.
In Sáo Paulo there is 17 million people,
4 million cars and 10,000 miles of
streets .
History & Growth
• Until the 18th century, São Paulo was not considered an important city.
• A large portion of their revenue was generated from sugar cane, during the 16th
century, but they could not compete with Pernambuco in the Northeast of Brazil, who
were close to the markets of Europe.
• However, during the 17th century, gold mines in Brazil were found, these were
originally situated in São Paulo, but the King of Portugal decided to make this a new
province, over which the new capital, Rio de Janioro, had jurisdiction.
• It was in the 19th century where São Paulo began to gain relevance, when it
introduced the coffee growing culture. The Europeans brought their culture and a
huge willing to work and succeed.
• After the movement to abolish slavery, European salary men were hired rather than
slaves.
• When the coffee importance declined, the Europeans moved to the cities and started
businesses.
• In the 20th century Brazil became a republic, allowing São Paulo to have political
power.
• “The mixture of money, power and hard work led São Paulo to
become the largest and most important State in Brazil today.”
Quality Of Life
There is vast inequality in Sáo Paulo.

We can measure this using the United Nations human development index, this
found that:

• Moema, the city’s richest district, has a higher standard of living

than Portugal

• Sáo Paulo’s poorest district, Marsilac, where 8,400 live in

favelas, is worse off than even Sierra Leone, the world’s
poorest country.
The Poor
• 20% of the population live in favelas, Portuguese for “slum”. Where as
others live in converted older homes and factories, known as corticos. In all
of these, families often share a single room, cockroach and rat infestations
are common. The simple amenities of plumming and electricity are sparse.
• Sáo Paulo has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Not helped by
the deindustrialisation occurring.
The Poor… Continued.
• They live in semi-poverty.
• Councils often remove favelas in areas where there is potential for the site
in the property market. Things such as this have forced the illegal
settlements on to some of the most dangerous areas. near gullies
o on floodplains
o on river banks
o along railways
o beside main roads
o adjacent to industrial areas
• Heliopolis is Sao Paulo’s largest slum. One hundred thousand people live
here in a mix of absolute and semi-poverty.
• Homicide rates are higher for the poor.
• Basic amenities such as clean water, are more than often not available.

http://www.geocases2.co.uk/printable/Housing%20in%20Sao%20Paulo.htm
Quality Of Living For The Rich
• The industrial boom in the 1950s made the city very rich, offering high-level
cultural events, museums and libraries.
• Live in villas, and fly in with their private helicopters. Sao Paulo is also
known for the highest helicopter traffic in the world.
• They have full access to all basic amenities and beyond.
• They are responsible for it being the 19th richest city in the world, it is
expected to be the 13th richest in 2020.
• Homicide rates are lower for the rich.
Housing Provisions
• Substandard housing occupies 70% of Sao Paulo’s area, that’s 1500 km2.
• The rich live in well-protected villas. Generally close to the CBD.
• The poor live in the previously mentioned favelas. They have caused
concern by their uncontrolled growth near the watershed causing pollution
and flooding. Further worries are fuelled by the expansion near
environmental preservation areas, the Serra da Cantareira, with fears of
rainforest destruction.
• Some of the potential housing sites are unable to be built on due to the
favelas that are there illegally.
• Attempts to improve this include simply moving the people by clearing the
land, site and service schemes (fundamentally providing concrete huts with
basic amenities), housing developments for the shanty town inhabitants,
and even placing industrial developments near them so there is job
opportunities to improve their quality of life.
Transport
• 4 million cars
• The public-transportation system is inadequate, it has three small subway
lines which are saturated by 2.5 million passengers each day.
• It has twice the number of buses than it’s streets.
• For these reasons the rich have taken to flying helicopters.
• Attempts to improve transport include: an underground metro system which
improves movement of people and reduces pollution, new roads, new train
and bus services, forming a pedestrianised CBD and imposing parking
restrictions.
Pollution
• Air pollution is second only to Los Angeles.
• Pollution of air, land and water is a major problem.
• Environmental policies are little imposed upon the industry.
• Unlicensed industries are set up in peoples homes or even on rooftops.
These industries release their own pollutants into the air, land and water.
• The atmospheric conditions particular to the region create a strong thermal
inversion during the wintertime, which worsens the air pollution problems
and the impact on health, particularly causing an increase in lung disease.
Waste
• The daily average of collected solid waste in the region is about 18,000
tons.
• More than 90 % is sent to the city’s landfills, most of which are at the limit of
their useful capacity.
• The liquids from the garbage seep out into the soil and maybe even into
underground waters.
• Results in environmental problems such as water and soil pollution.
• Controlled landfills have been introduced but the exhaustion of the physical
space needed for the installation of controlled landfills has left authorities
with no obvious solution.