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Social and environmental exclusion at the edge of São Paulo, Brazil

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Abstract

Urban poverty and social exclusion are overwhelming concerns with more than 32% of the world's urban population living under precarious housing conditions. The paper presents findings from three studies documenting the evolution of a squatter community on the southern edge of São Paulo city. The qualitative data collected between the late 1990s and 2007 will highlight critical socio-environmental living conditions in the periphery. Benefits and limits of water supply and sanitation upgrading projects will also be identified. Recent directions in public policy addressing these social issues are reviewed. The paper underlines the pressing demand for more inclusive decision-making processes in the planning and implementation of sustainable community development.

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Acknowledgements

Thanks and great appreciation goes to the community Pedra sobre Pedra, and in particular to the members of the local neighbourhood associations, and to Ruth Takahashi from Rêde Mulher de Educação, Professor Angela Baeder from the Fundação Santo André. The research was funded partially through the ARC National Research Council in Australia, and the Canada-Latin America and the Caribbean Research Exchange Grants Program (LACREG).

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  1. Department of Geography, University of Victoria, PO Box 3050, STN CSC, V8W 3P5, Victoria, BC, Canada

    Jutta Gutberlet & Angela Hunter

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  1. Jutta Gutberlet
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  2. Angela Hunter
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Correspondence to Jutta Gutberlet.

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Gutberlet, J., Hunter, A. Social and environmental exclusion at the edge of São Paulo, Brazil. Urban Des Int 13, 3–20 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1057/udi.2008.2

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