City Center São Paulo – 150 years of projects and achievements

Studies on the evolution dynamics of its public spaces

Abstract

This article was written as the result of a Master's Dissertation developed in the Graduate Program in Architecture and Urbanism at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, presenting as a central question the investigation of public spaces in the center of the city of São Paulo, with its different aspects and its evolution, through different propositions and projects, over time. Taking the construction of a timeline as a starting point, the time frame was divided into distinct periods, through the search for common characteristics in the methods of approaching the proposals in relation to the public space of the city. The temporal divisions allow the exploration of common aspects in the approaches of public administrations, in relation to the central spaces of the city, while facilitating the understanding of the set of elements that characterize that space (the City Center) over the years. Using a historiographic methodology, through the organization of data collected from primary and secondary sources, it is intended to highlight some specific projects representative of the different divisions adopted in the work, for a study capable of finding universalizing characteristics, capable of explaining the broader functional and economic structures behind interventions at the Center.