[{"jcr:title":"Graduate students in Social Urbanism participate in the Jardim Ângela improvement program","cq:tags_0":"area-de-conhecimento:políticas-públicas/urbanismo","cq:tags_1":"centro-de-conhecimento:laborat-rio-arq--futuro-de-cidades"},{"richText":"The Center for City Research integrates an initiative led by the social organization Ikone and the São Paulo City Hall, which seeks to improve the living conditions of the population in one of the neediest districts of the capital","authorDate":"26/02/2025 08h19","author":"Bruno Toranzo","madeBy":"Por","tag":"centro-de-conhecimento:laborat-rio-arq--futuro-de-cidades","title":"Graduate students in Social Urbanism participate in the Jardim Ângela improvement program","variant":"imagecolor"},{"jcr:title":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"themeName":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"containerType":"containerTwo"},{"jcr:title":"Grid Container Section","layout":"responsiveGrid"},{"text":"Located in the far south of São Paulo, the Jardim Ângela district was identified by the UN in 1996 as the most violent place on Earth—yes, on the entire planet—with an annual rate of 116.23 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Today, it still ranks among the areas with the worst social indicators in the city, according to the Inequality Map produced by the Nossa São Paulo Network. The study compiles 45 indicators from the 96 districts of the capital, divided into 11 thematic areas, such as education, health, housing, work and income, culture, public security, and mobility. The Center for City Research of Insper participates in this initiative alongside the social organization Ikone, and in partnership with the São Paulo City Hall, aiming to improve this district through participatory tools and social urbanism project methodologies.   “Three main tools are used in this work: a participatory process at all stages, with the effective involvement of residents; integration of different public policies, such as housing and infrastructure, leisure, culture, and security through citizenship strengthening; and the university’s collaboration in processes of monitoring and evaluating results based on data and evidence collected in the territory,” says Laryssa Kruger, Assistant Program Director of Graduate Program in Social Urbanism and of the Center for Social Urbanism and Public Security Research of the Center for City Research of Insper. “The main purpose is to bring civil society to build solutions that make sense for vulnerable territories, in partnership with the public authorities,” she notes.   The project’s implementation work began last September with graduate students in Social Urbanism at Insper joining the Ikone team. They conducted a diagnosis of the needs of Jardim Ângela, using the participatory social urbanism approach—thus listening to the residents. They also outlined the socio-demographic profile, noting that the community’s residents, due to its age, are fully integrated and engaged in solving old and persistent problems. “Our aim was to provide our students with more practical experience, applying taught content to vulnerable territories,” explains Laryssa.     Simultaneous multi-front interventions   The Jardim Ângela project integrates different fronts of public policy. This involves both improvements in physical infrastructures like alleys and stairways, creating community spaces and leisure areas for children, with cultural programming while also supporting the improvement of residences.   “There is a budget of R$30,000 for the renovation of each of the hundred houses covered by the São Paulo City Hall’s Pode Entrar Program,” says Laryssa. The decisions on how this resource will be invested fall to the selected families, along with the technical and social team. There are constructions that suffer from mold, for example, others with infiltrations. There may be a need to open windows, install floors and tiles, or tackle roof moisture problems. So far, 20 houses have been renovated by the improvement project, which has also carried out a series of works on the region’s urban infrastructure.   Two extensive stairways, enabling residents to enter and leave the community with dignity, have been renovated and handed over. “There was a lot of moss in these places, making people slip, especially when it rained. Flooding of areas was another issue, as were very high steps, hindering the mobility of the elderly and children. We standardized the steps and installed handrails to improve accessibility, in addition to overcoming elevations playfully, creating a slide for children,” details Laryssa. Other interventions are also complete, such as transforming an entire alley to be accessible for the elderly and delivering the playground for the children.     Urban art   In addition to all the mentioned improvements, the entrance of the Alphaville community in Jardim Ângela received an urban art intervention, creating an open-air gallery, with each resident deciding what would be depicted on their gates and walls. Additionally, artistic paintings were made on higher floors, making the community visible even from a distance, enhancing pride in the neighborhood. “The aim here is to instill a sense of belonging because, through the paintings, the community’s visibility in the urban environment is increased,” observes Laryssa. Finally, cultural activities such as stencil workshops, storytelling, and cinema focused on residents were implemented.   The practical portion of the project concludes in March. After that, the time will come to monitor and evaluate the actions in relation to improving people’s quality of life and the sense of community belonging. “We have been working from the start with data collected or produced within the territory in the way Insper believes public policy should be—based on evidence,” Laryssa concludes."}]