Green areas in São Paulo's urban planning: city parks in the Setúbal administration (1976-1979)

Abstract

For years, the press and other media reinforced the idea that Olavo Setúbal had been the mayor who had performed the most green works in São Paulo. Nine public parks were created under his administration with budget funding. This article investigates the motivations that led Setúbal to embrace this policy. In the second half of the 1970s, this initiative was part of a discussion about the lack of urban green areas by local authorities that fell under a nationwide drive to protect native forests. The policy implemented by the federal government, with ample international support, was especially intended to preserve vegetation, legitimating the initiative championed by Setúbal. Therefore, it is important for us to understand how environmental stewardship influenced urban policy in Brazil in the 1970s and has remained a trend today.