Challenges of the urban peripheral landscapes

Abstract The peripheral regions of Sao Paulo reveal a profound contradiction in their landscapes – on the one hand, remnants of their original biophysical basis and, on the other, increasing pressure for the territory’s occupation. The northwest sector of the periphery, for example, presents environmentally sensitive areas which are at the same time under great pressure for occupation by those who do so by choice (the property market) and those who have none (irregular and high-risk occupation). The poor inhabitants of these regions have increasingly organized themselves to achieve basic rights through community associations, social movements, and cultural groups ever since the recent re-democratization process in Brazil. It is precisely in these urban spaces, which are precarious in many ways, that significant subjectivities have emerged in participatory processes, expressing an awareness of environmental issues with an implicit desire for more humanized landscapes. These processes often include children and their teachers as protagonists. For thirteen years, the Landscape, Art and Culture Laboratory (LABPARC) of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU) at USP has been working with educators and children from municipal public schools, developing projects, research, and university extension work in the region. This article aims to discuss this experience with the objective of showing the gains achieved and the challenges that may arise within the perspective of a collective construction of the city, where urban interventions can be harmonized with water sources, streams, steep slopes, forests, and fauna.

摘要 圣保罗外围区域的景观呈现出深刻的矛盾性：一方面留存着原生自然基底的遗迹，另一方面则面临着日益加剧的土地开发占用压力。以其西北片区为例，该区域分布着生态敏感地带，却同时承受着来自两类群体的巨大开发占用压力：一类是主动寻求开发的房地产市场主体，另一类则是无房可居、被迫进行非正规且高风险占用的群体。自巴西近期重启民主化进程以来，该区域的贫困居民愈发多地通过社区协会、社会运动与文化团体组织起来，以争取基本权利。正是在这些诸多方面都处于不稳定状态的城市空间中，参与式实践中涌现出了极具意义的主体性表达：民众既展现出对环境议题的认知，也暗含着对更具人文关怀的景观的向往。这类实践往往以儿童及其教师作为核心参与者。十三年来，圣保罗大学（University of São Paulo, USP）建筑与城市规划学院（Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, FAU）下设的景观、艺术与文化实验室（Landscape, Art and Culture Laboratory, LABPARC）一直与市政公立学校的教育工作者及学生合作，在该区域开展项目研发、学术研究与大学推广工作。本文旨在对这一实践经验展开探讨，以期展现城市集体营建视角下所取得的成效与潜在挑战——该视角下的城市干预举措可与水源、溪流、陡坡、森林与动植物群落实现协调共生。