Yesterday, Alex's former student and colleague Nancy (who's doing thesis work on sustainable waste management and conversion) and her Brazilian planner boyfriend Bruno showed us around the oldest part of Sao Paulo. Bruno worked on the Sao Paulo 2040 master plan, and on NovaLuz, a huge redevelopment project. I will leave it to Alex (please!) to write up more on our excellent afternoon with them.
Today we went on another city tour with an astute guide named Fernando, who skillfully pandered to our architectural and historic interests. After, I broke free to check out two very different parts of town on my own: the ultra-wealthy and chic Jardins, and the edgy, on-the-verge-of redevelopment Luz, location of a grand old-world train station and the Pinoteca Art Museum.
Some quick facts about Sao Paulo: It is the richest and most populous city in Brazil, with 12 million in the city proper, and 20 million in the SP metro area. 12% of Brazil's GNP is generated in SP. The city is also the largest Japanese city outside of Japan: about 300,000, mostly 3rd or 4th generation Japanese, and about 70 different ethnicities altogether. Sao Paulo has the largest helicopter fleet in the world. The traffic is so bad, that those who can afford to--including the mayor--commute by helicopter. Given the intensity of traffic, it could be worse: most Brazilian cars are flex fuel vehicles, running on either ethanol or gasoline. Brazil crops huge amounts of sugar cane specifically for conversion to ethanol, which is available everywhere. With this, some good offshore oil supplies and an emphasis on sustainable energy production and consumption, Brazil has achieved energy independence.
I think I can speak for our entire group in saying that we've thus far been very impressed with many aspects of this megacity, and enjoyed ourselves far more than we anticipated. Tomorrow morning we'll meet with Sao Paulo Planning staff.
Today we went on another city tour with an astute guide named Fernando, who skillfully pandered to our architectural and historic interests. After, I broke free to check out two very different parts of town on my own: the ultra-wealthy and chic Jardins, and the edgy, on-the-verge-of redevelopment Luz, location of a grand old-world train station and the Pinoteca Art Museum.
I think I can speak for our entire group in saying that we've thus far been very impressed with many aspects of this megacity, and enjoyed ourselves far more than we anticipated. Tomorrow morning we'll meet with Sao Paulo Planning staff.
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