The production of urban space in the North Zone of São Paulo, Brazil: Lausanne Paulista neighborhood and the Savoy family

Abstract

São Paulo went through intense spatial transformations between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. With these changes, driven by the arrival of waves of immigrants, and also by internal migrations from the countryside to the capital, the city went beyond the natural limits imposed by the Tietê River. This expansion of the urban sprawl took place from both the public and the private-business spheres with the promotion of subdivisions and infrastructure. In this article, we are going to approach these actions, focusing on understanding how the northern region of the city established itself as an alternative pole to the high rents in the neighborhoods bordering the central region and helped in the process of sprawling the urban area of the capital. To this end, we analyze the formation of the urban space beyond Tietê, showing the performance of urban promoters. From the subdivision of the soil of their lands and the creation of urban attractions for the occupation of the space, still with rural characteristics at the turn of the century, the promoters were successful. Specifically, we will highlight the formation of Lausanne Paulista, a neighborhood that originated from a piece of land belonging to the Savoy family, which, in addition to the subdivision of the land, also organized a floodplain soccer club, which served as an urban attraction for residents of the neighborhood. The article thus shows, the trajectory of Lausanne Paulista, exploring the commercial and social activities of the promoting family, exposing the links between social representation, space commercialization strategies and formation of sociabilities applicable to the area between the slopes of the Serra da Cantareira and the floodplain of the Tietê River.