Favela do Sape Urbanization

Description

The Favela do Sapé is located west of the city of São Paulo. There, about 2,500 families lived in precarious homes along the banks of the Sapé stream. The area's redevelopment project has as main objectives: 1) the relocation of families at risk; 2) creation of new residential units in the community itself for relocated families; 3) urbanization of the remaining part of the favela to guarantee that 100% of the houses have water supply and sewerage; 4) recovery of the waters of the Sapé stream through the installation of sanitation infrastructures; 5) drainage and canalization of the stream to avoid new floods and 6) implementation of a linear park with green areas and community facilities along the canalized stream that runs through the entire community.The objective of the urban remodeling project was to get rid of the borders between the formal city and the favela that stigmatize its inhabitants so much, connecting the road systems and providing continuity to the urban fabrics. We consider extremely important that the stream became part of the landscape, so that it was understood by the inhabitants as a natural resource and not as a sanitation infrastructure, where any type of waste could be thrown.In addition to the six objectives declared by SEHAB, the group of architects and urban planners proposed three other challenges. The first was to try to eliminate the borders between the formal city and the favela that stigmatize its inhabitants so much, connecting road systems and providing continuity between urban fabrics. For this, the urban project created, across the favela area, two new shared roads that would connect General Syzeno Sarmento Street, in the upper part of the favela, with Waldemar Roberto Street, next to the left bank of the stream. Divided into three large blocks by the new roads, it became part of the city's road system.The second challenge of the project was to make the Sapé stream stop being seen by the inhabitants of the favela as a sewerage infrastructure, where any type of waste could be dumped, and to be seen as a natural resource, appropriated by the community. local population and enjoyed in a more organic and ecological way. To achieve this objective, it was extremely important that the stream would not remain hidden in a deep pit, but that it was part of the urban landscape. To do this, our strategy for calculating the channeling section of the stream was to make it as wide and flat as possible.The Linear Park, along the 1800 meters of channeling of the stream, with landscaping facilities and public sports and leisure facilities, became an instrument of social inclusion as it offers opportunities for social encounters and exchange among local inhabitants, in addition of providing connections between the two banks of the stream longitudinally integrating the entire community.In total, 1,177 homes were demolished, of which 635 were due to being at risk of collapse or because they were within the non-buildable strips; 191 to allow the installation of new road and sanitation infrastructures, necessary to guarantee all dwellings access to the urban supply and sanitation system; and 354 to obtain land for the new residential buildings.Access to the water supply and sanitation system for all the remaining dwellings in the community has a social importance that transcends basic sanitation and public health issues. It is what allows a resident to have an official address. In Brazil, proof of address is a fundamental and necessary document, required by the State for citizenship, compulsory for things such as registration in public bodies or social assistance applications, registration in the Unified Health System ( SUS) or for enrollment in public schools. The proof of address elevates the inhabitant of the favela to the status of citizen. In addition to that, it grants the resident of a favela the guarantee of his permanence, thus encouraging investment in improvements in his own home.The third challenge was trying to conserve the diversity of uses of the favela. Through the social diagnosis carried out by the prefecture, the variety of existing uses in the community's slums became evident. The favela was never an exclusive place of residence. In many of the demolished buildings there were small markets, bars, hairdressers, cyber shops, and other businesses and services, often being the only source of income for their owners. Accordingly, the project proposed the definition of areas for the installation of shops and services integrated with the zones.(Description provided by the Pessoa Arquitetos)