The Luz district in São Paulo: anthropological questions on the phenomenon of gentrification

Abstract

This paper will explore, from an anthropological perspective, the extent to which the concept of gentrification can be applied to current urban interventions in the district of Luz, situated in the inner city of São Paulo (population 11 million), and caught between the conflicting interests of the preservation of historical patrimony, the promotion of cultural consumption and the historical use of the area’s public spaces by the working class. This question will be approached with emphasis on the following issues: local government policy on urban improvement and the stigmatization of areas occupied predominantly by the working class; the rethinking of tradition al dichotomies, such as the (analytically divisive) polarity “politics of urban intervention” vs. “resistance of affected groups”; the multiple meanings attributed to the notion of bairro (‘district’ or ‘neighborhood’) and the definition of terms of comparison with other cases (avoiding a priori perspectives).