Rua Augusta is one of the busiest and most vibrant streets in São Paulo, Latin America’s largest city. For this very reason, it is also one of the most sought-after by real estate developers, which, little by little, are demolishing the street’s old buildings to make way for gigantic skyscrapers.
This was the fate of one of the few non-multiplex movie theaters that still operate in the country, located in a building with classic architecture from the 1950s and housing one of the most traditional cafés in São Paulo.
The establishment was only saved after municipal authorities, facing criticism, included the space in a cultural protection program. The company that bought the land can still build on it, as long as it preserves the ground-floor cinema and café — both of which will likely be closed for the duration of construction.
The verticalization of central São Paulo has gone into overdrive since the city’s last master plan was approved almost ten years ago. Drawn up and ratified during the administration of former Mayor Fernando Haddad, who currently serves as Lula’s finance minister, the idea was to encourage real estate companies to build smaller and cheaper homes in areas close to subway stations and bus lines.
Architect and urban planner Nabil Bonduki, the plan’s rapporteur, argued that a compact and less dispersed city makes better use of existing infrastructure and helps preserve the green pockets that still exist on the outskirts. The idea was to help the poorest population live closer to the central area, where there are more jobs and public...
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