Jardins Neighborhood Plan

SÃO PAULO

A park neighborhood for the city

The urban development of the city of São Paulo, as well as that of other Brazilian metropolises, is strongly associated with the increase in motorization and the intensification of the process of construction densification in areas that are better equipped with infrastructure, public facilities, and services. Not infrequently, this dynamic is accompanied by a process of urban transformation that prioritizes automobiles and real estate exploitation to the detriment of people’s quality of life, active mobility, public spaces, green areas, street tree coverage, and the heritage that carries the history of the city’s occupation.

In this sense, the garden neighborhoods present in the city of São Paulo play a relevant role, not only as the memory of a city that once aspired to be green and calm in its residential spaces, respectful of the territory through its organic and winding streets; but also as an example of a group of neighborhoods that offer the city extensive green areas with mild microclimates, in contrast to the gray of the intensely built-up surroundings, where automobiles occupy the place of people. It is no coincidence that the historical and cultural importance of these century-old developments by Companhia City has been recognized and listed as heritage in order to preserve their street layout and their way of promoting urban life.

Municipal legislation has embraced this understanding by designating the listed area in the Master Plan as a Special Cultural Heritage Zone – Special Urbanization Area (ZEPEC-AUE) and, in general terms, preserving the neighborhood’s horizontal occupation pattern within zoning regulations.

The perimeter selected for this study includes the neighborhoods of Jardim América, Jardim Paulistano, Jardim Europa, and part of Jardim Paulista, encompassing the listed heritage area. In addition to this perimeter, a direct area of influence was defined, covering the immediate surroundings, which allows the establishment of existing and potential relationships and dynamics between the Jardins and the region. This includes the understanding of land use and occupation, motorized and non-motorized flows, environmental systems, and urban infrastructure and facilities.

In order to achieve a comprehensive reading of the urban fabric, it was necessary to adopt an approach that considered its multiple layers and scales. The intersection and behavior of these layers allowed us to understand the various dynamics of the place, resulting in a broader reading of the territory.

The analyses were carried out through successive approaches to the territory, alternating scales and evaluating the impacts of urban dynamics occurring both inside and outside the study area. The different forms of land use and occupation in the external blocks closest to the study perimeter impact the adjacent internal blocks with varying intensities, according to existing dynamics and the potential for change identified in the analyses conducted.

An integrated synthesis is then materialized in a sectorization that groups blocks which, on the one hand, tend to receive the same impacts from urban dynamics, and on the other, preliminarily indicates sectors that should receive specific treatment and guidelines in the possible development of a Neighborhood Plan, according to the potentials they present and the opportunities they represent.

Based on the integrated reading and synthesis, a Vision for the future of the territory is presented, from an intersectoral perspective structured around four strategic axes: Environmental; Land Use, Occupation and Heritage; Mobility; and Public Spaces. For each axis, the most relevant aspects of the current situation are presented based on the previous analysis (diagnosis), as well as their challenges and potentialities.

Environmental Axis

This axis encompasses two main layers of action:

• Tree coverage in public and private spaces, addressing street tree planting, vegetation within private lots, partnerships for management, environmental commitment agreements, and governance.

• Water resources and drainage, addressing drainage systems, the qualification of public spaces, and integrated water management.

Land Use, Occupation and Heritage Axis

This axis encompasses three main layers of action:

• Heritage and facilities

• Quiet residential areas (remansos)

• Outer ring and circulation network

Mobility Axis

This axis encompasses two main layers of action:

• Road network and sustainable mobility, aiming at improvements in the local road system, traffic control, and discouraging through traffic. The proposal is to concentrate motorized vehicles on the main circulation axes through strategies of hierarchy, traffic calming, and changes in the direction of traffic flow on streets. In contrast, accessibility and mobility will be improved within the internal circulation network and along the peripheral ring.

• Active mobility and accessibility, focusing on the cycling network integrated with the public transport system, the creation of pedestrian corridors, and the qualification of public spaces to improve walkability, especially in the quiet residential areas of the neighborhood. The promotion of active mobility should foster greater integration of open green areas and connections between the main public transport nodes and public facilities.

Public Spaces Axis

This axis encompasses two main layers of action:

• Sidewalks, with a focus on promoting universal accessibility and ensuring a walkable and safe urban space. Sidewalks should provide users with road safety, comfort, adequate lighting, continuity, connectivity, attractiveness, and universal accessibility.

• Qualified open green spaces, which contribute to the perception of the Jardins as a park neighborhood. The proposal seeks to articulate these green areas through walkable axes, improvements to physical infrastructure (signage, urban furniture, lighting), and activation through planned programs compatible with residential use.

Transversal Axis

As part of a complementary axis, called the Transversal Axis, which is interconnected with the others, two initiatives are proposed:

i) Creation of a Green Seal for establishments that adhere to the Plan, with the aim of establishing a strategy to encourage, monitor, and ensure environmental commitment in the actions promoted in the neighborhood, especially for non-residential establishments located along circulation networks and main axes.

ii) Creation of an environmental and historical-cultural circuit, intended to highlight the neighborhood’s cultural points of interest and strengthen its cultural identity, as well as the presence of historical and cultural heritage.