With a foundational career as a professor at FAUUSP, serving for 15 years at the São Paulo Municipal Planning Department and as an urban planning consultant for municipal, state, and federal agencies, Flávio Villaça will be remembered for his professional integrity and as one of Brazil's most prominent urban theorists. His intellectual work shaped generations of architects and urban planners, fostering a critical perspective on Brazilian cities—their development, inequalities, segregation, and potential.
The architect and urban planner died on Monday, March 29, 2021. According to professor Raquel Rolnik, he had been ill for some time and passed away at his home in São Paulo.
Villaça authored several books in which he critically examined the relationship between urban planning theories and socio-spatial production. Among his most well-known titles are: “O que todo cidadão precisa saber sobre habitação” (What Every Citizen Needs to Know About Housing, 1986), “Espaço intra-urbano” (Intra-Urban Space, 2001), and “As ilusões do Plano Diretor” (The Illusions of the Master Plan). In the words of fellow FAUUSP professor Maria Cristina da Silva Leme:
The focus on studies and research in the field of urbanism, with an emphasis on issues related to urban planning and the social questions emerging from the social production of urban space, was always present in the years following their graduation.
Below, as a tribute, we share a lecture in which Villaça discusses the history of urban planning, featured on TV Unesp's "Primeiras Aulas" (First Classes) segment.
This article was written by Victor Delaqua. The translation is powered by AI.
