Associação Viva o Centro:a collective approach for improving São Paulo city’s downtown

Abstract

This article aims to reveal and expand the potential of São Paulo’s downtown, especially its historic center, by proposing consistent actions that consider its strategic role into the metropolitan context and its great importance in defining São Paulo’s identity in the network of world cities. The set of strategic proposals included in this article results from the synthesis of seminars, workshops, public and private debates and studies promoted by the Associação Viva o Centro since 1991 (year of its foundation), as well as actual fieldwork experience and projects developed jointly with different areas of local government. From the mid nineties onwards, the common view among (citizens and) policymakers that considered the city center as an insolvable problem has been substantially reversed. This consensus was gradually replaced by an approach that considers the area as a breeding ground for the metropolis’ cultural, social and economic environment, thanks to the work of organizations of the civil society such as Viva o Centro, collaborating with the municipal and state governments. The focus of this work insisted in actions that lead to the improvement of life standards and self-sustain¬ability at present, looking ahead.