“By 2050, around 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas”, according to the UN-Habitat biannual report, which discusses alternatives to accelerate global progress towards sustainable development.
The trend of rapid urbanization, combined with intense climate change, characterizes the early 21st century and poses challenges to maintaining life in cities. This is especially true for megacities like São Paulo—which are among the most populous in the world, with more than 22 million inhabitants—which can face an additional increase in temperature of at least 0.5°C by 2040.
In theory, densification is a sustainable alternative for São Paulo and other cities with the same characteristics around the world to overcome these problems. According to urban economist Harvard professor Edward Glaeser, a compact city is beneficial for the environment as well as culture and education since it limits urban sprawl while reducing motorized mobility and pollutant gas emissions, allowing for a greater mix of ideas, values, and cultures.
The most recent review of São Paulo’s Strategic Master Plan (2023) outlined the goal of transforming the capital into a compact city and reducing the distance between housing, work, leisure, and essential facilities such as hospitals. A city of this type maintains its urban quality through a balance in land use, with typological diversity that ensures greater population density—especially on public transport routes—optimizing infrastructure and encouraging urban life.
