Living, working, and experiencing cities with vibrant streets, downtowns, and parks, adequately sized sidewalks, efficient public transit, and low congestion levels are shared aspirations worldwide. Achieving these conditions is no easy task, and cities that offer them certainly did not do so through car-oriented planning.

With populations daily subjected to poor examples of how a city should function, certain paradigms, phenomena, and policies continue to hinder the planning and operation of “cities for people.”

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A watercolor-illustrated tourist map, a mobile application available for Android and iOS, and two books gathering stories from the neighborhoods of Rio da Luz, in Jaraguá do Sul, and Testo Alto, in Pomerode—both in Santa Catarina—comprise the Projeto Lumiar. The initiative will launch these products online at 7:00 PM this Thursday, the 8th. The result of two years of research with local communities, the launch event is supported by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).

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This development, conceived and initiated during the administration of João Goulart, can be considered an example of the transition between the former management of the IAPB [Bank Workers' Retirement and Pension Institute] and the new housing policy that began to be implemented in 1964.

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Have you ever thought about walking? This is the question that GUIAPÉ SP — a guide presented here through an essay — asks its readers. From the cover on, it proposes walking through the city of São Paulo, charting a route that strategically passes through places where arriving on foot is precisely the point, revealing overlooked details, people, and urban life. This guide was not made for sightseeing, but rather to take its readers on a journey. Within its pages, the route and the sidewalks are not merely paths leading to destinations; they are part of the journey itself.

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Videos

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Five years after the Empena Viva project, Nitsche Arquitetos returns to artistically occupy the surroundings of the Minhocão. Through the Eclipse intervention, the team aims to illustrate the socioeconomic and temporal processes driven by São Paulo's urban dynamics using a simple gesture.

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To talk about architecture and social media is to immediately think of Instagram. Launched in 2010, the app was characterized from the very beginning by combining photo sharing with typical social network features. Its success was extraordinary; within hours of its launch, it was already the most downloaded free photography app. Within two months, the number of registered users surpassed the one-million mark.

The study of architecture and its relationship to daily life and gender has prompted researchers to seek new sources and expand the analysis of their ideas and achievements. This essay explores the female presence in urban spaces through fragments of daily life gathered from columns, news reports, and advertisements published in the newspaper *O Estado de São Paulo*.

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Maria Inês Sugai is the 2020 Architect and Urban Planner of the Year. The award is presented annually by the National Federation of Architects and Urban Planners (FNA) to professionals who stand out for their work dedicated to the development of the profession and of Brazilian cities. Holding a bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degree from FAU-USP, with specializations in Urban and Regional Development and the Use and Conservation of Natural Resources from UFSC, the professor's nomination was supported by the Union of Architects and Urban Planners of Santa Catarina (SASC). Maria Inês Sugai is currently a professor in undergraduate and graduate programs at UFSC and the author of articles and books, including “Espaço e Desigualdade” (Space and Inequality). She also served as a member of the Santa Catarina State Council of Cities.

The 13th NUTAU 2020 International Seminar, scheduled for November, will be held entirely online. The central theme, "Valorization of Urban Forestry Waste," aims to explore its potential for research and projects across relevant fields of study.

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Blind walls are known as the side walls of a building, typically designed to run along neighboring constructions. Even in buildings with more generous side setbacks that allow for door and window openings, these walls can be kept as large, continuous surfaces, creating a blank facade.

In this context, exposed concrete walls—which leverage the material's texture without requiring additional finishes—can be used as aesthetic elements in the building's formal composition. As part of the Brazilian Houses series, we present 10 residences featuring concrete blind walls below:

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Criticism of the most common models of social housing (HIS) in Brazil is quite frequent. Indeed, these critiques are generally well-founded, given the architectural and urbanistic deficiencies of most completed developments—particularly those built in areas far from urban centers, which deny residents their right to the city.

There are, however, successful examples: projects built on the premises of access to urban infrastructure, connectivity with the immediate surroundings, construction efficiency, environmental comfort, and healthy living conditions inside the housing units. Below, we have compiled six examples of social housing—designed by Biselli Katchborian Arquitetos, Jirau Arquitetura, MMBB Arquitetos, H+F Arquitetos, Boldarini Arquitetura e Urbanismo, and Vigliecca & Associados—that offer compelling solutions to such a complex and delicate program.

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As one of the largest and most populous cities in the world, São Paulo has accumulated over the years a complex web of relationships between its territory and its inhabitants. By fostering and fueling various interests, the city quickly became a major hub, gaining prominence on the national stage. However, the metropolis increasingly reveals a widening gap between its social classes, compounded by the recurring chaos of traffic gridlock and seasonal flooding—the results of poor urban planning that serves the interests of a select few at the expense of the city's overall health.