The production of the segregated city: The case of São Paulo's nova luz urban redevelopment project

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between segregation and urban redevelopment projects through an analysis of São Paulo's metropolis. Our assumption is that segregation is one of the components of capitalist urban space, since it is produced as a commodity, which determines its fragmentation and hierarchy. In the peripheral countries, this condition prevents thousands of people to live with dignity. In recent decades, the space production has become a possibility of investment for the capital in crisis. This situation reveals the importance of the urban renewal projects, because they reinforce public and private investments in specific areas of the cities, increasing its valuation. In this article, the analysis of Nova Luz Project shows that the segregation is a content of contemporary urbanism and that the city's production process is increasingly tied to the private interests and to the capital.