O entorno da Estação da Luz: infra-estrutura de transportes, mobilidade e desigualdade social

Abstract

Luz Station played important role in the São Paulo metropolis’ central areas. As part of the mass transportation, its history is connected first to that of the suburban railways that, different of what happened in other countries, were much more linked to a suburb basically formed by a low rent population that was served by the railway in its daily movements of going and coming from the residence to work, this located near the main commerce and services metropolitan centers. In this daily struggle, the citizen faced however, many difficulties, due to the delays and even interruptions of the transportation for long periods, what always was attributed to the railway system precarious conditions, as since the years of 1950’s the investments were done with priority to the road transportation system. This railway precarious situation was only modified, with more emphasis, in the years of 1970’s, with the implementation of the firs subway North-South line and, more significantly in the years of 1990’s, when the efforts were directed to connect the rail systems – train and subway – structuring a high capacity transportation metropolitan network. More recently these investments will enable to connect the transportation in a network, with an interconnection at Luz Station, a building existing over one hundred years, built in Victorian style that today is in process of restoration and modernization. As a node junction of modals, the Luz Station will allow the interchange between the subway North-South (line 1) and Luz-Vila Sonia (line 4). It is estimated that some 35 thousand persons per hour will pass through Luz Station. Considering this perspective, the question that one must answer is “which is this population impact on the environment surrounding Luz Station?” Or still, “which is the Luz Station role in its surrounding areas and in the metropolis?” To understand the reach of this waited impact it is proposed that this study focuses the following urban districts of Sé, República, Bom Retiro, Santa Cecília and Pari. Methodologically data and information registered in the main researches and publications will be used, like the 1997 Origin/Destiny Research developed by the Subway Company and the 2020 Comprehensive Urban Transportation Program developed by the State Businesses Metropolitan Transportation, among others. As results it is expected to generate and increase knowledge that enable to fundament attitudes of management, planning and design for the degraded urban areas’ recovering.