ABSTRACT: This article aims to discuss the contemporary urban-territorial policies pointing to sustainable development of cities. To do this, it investigates two different moments of urban planning for the city of São Paulo: the Municipal Strategic Master Plan approved in 2014 and the previous Master Plan, from 2002, making a comparative approach. The paper discusses the urban mobility issue linked to sustainability, assuming population density as a critical indicator to the analysis, which relies on specific literature on sustainability and urban mobility presented, among others, by the authors: Henri Ascelrad, Nabil Bonduki, and Erminia Maricato. It regards the planning instruments presented in co-related legislation, such as the 2012 Municipal Urban Mobility Plan for São Paulo and the 2001 Statute of Cities, as well. It is presupposed that there is a close relationship among urban sustainability and mobility, both concepts connected to population density. Thus, it stands up for the thought that a denser and multifunctional city corresponds to social and environmental sustainability as it is more democratically accessible. The paper concludes that in the scope of Sao Paulo city’s urban planning there was an evolution of the main territory ordering device towards urban sustainability during the studied period. At the end, it seems that this set of issues encourages the production of a city better committed to the community and to building up socially just urban space, especially in access to public spaces and urban services.
Open PDF