Higienópolis

Higienópolis (pron. IPA2|iʒie'nɔpolis) is a neighborhood in the central part of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The neighborhood is largely residential, and contains many large apartment buildings and condominiums. It is also known for its prominent cultural institutions. The region has been populated since the 16th century, and is known for its buildings in the style of São Paulo Modern Architecture.

History

Originally, the region of the city which comprises today's Higienópolis was inhabited by the Jesuits, being called "Sesmaria of Pacaembu." It remained thus until the beginning of the 20th century when it was converted into a neighborhood for the highest class of paulistanos. It was attractive due to its high elevation, wide open streets and an array of woody plants. Also, being far from the Luz train station, and out of the old city center, it was much quieter and cleaner, giving it the name it has today, Higienópolis, "City of Hygiene".

Today, the neighborhood has managed to keep some of the large homes of the past, though little remains of the vast area and giant mansions that once dominated the landscape. A prime example is a building which once was the art-nouveau mansion of the Prado family, near the western end of Angelica Avenue, which today houses the graduate and post-graduate courses of the University of São Paulo's College of Architecture and Urbanism (FAU).

It was in the 1950s that the neighborhood as it is today started to rise from the mansions of the past. Large real estate investments in the area caused the demolition of many of the large mansions and houses by which the neighbourhood was characterized. When this happened, the area became a melting pot of the new, modern architecture and large buildings, and the old elegant architecture of the earlier eras.

In the period between 1970 and 1990, the area was still a place where the wealthy lived to get away from the hustle and bustle of the center of the city, and still contained much of its earlier social segregation.

Higienópolis Today

The Region

Today the neighborhood is still well known for the large upper class that lives in the area. It managed to keep its social status during the rapid growth of the city, a time when many places such as Campos Elíseos began to shelter a broader range of social classes. Higienópolis contains an enormous amount of large apartment buildings, and very few, if any, houses with permanent residency. Some buildings are multi-purpose, but there are very few large buildings that serve any other purpose other than the residential.

There is currently a large number of Jewish and Jewish descendants living in the region, and there are a number of synagogues and Jewish schools throughout Higienópolis.

Attractions and Events

The area features an array of tourist locations, local cuisine, a large shopping center (Shopping Higienópolis), and is in close proximity to the Municipal Stadium (Pacembu Stadium), and the Old Center of São Paulo, as well as being near to Paulista Avenue. Patio Higienópolis, commonly known as Shopping Higienópolis, is located on Higienópolis Avenue, near the corner of Angelica.

The Rotary Club of São Paulo, the largest Rotary Club in South America, is located in the Higienópolis neighborhood, and contains a well-known private secondary school in the city, Colegio Rio Branco. The Rotary Club regularly hosts fund-raisers and other events inside the school.

Buenos Aires Park is a small region of the neighborhood where one can see a large variety of tropical plants and trees, if only to get away from the noise and pollution of the streets.

Culture and Education

Higienópolis, being in the central area of the São Paulo Metropolis, is home to numerous cultural institutions. These include Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP), Mackenzie Presbyterian University, the São Paulo Foundation School of Sociology and Politics, Cultura Inglesa (an English language and culture school), the French Alliance, and the Central University of Maria Antonia. The Roman-Catholic Colégio Sion is located on Higienópolis Avenue, right across from the Colégio Rio Branco.

Problems

*Even though the neighborhood is quite safe due to the large number of security guards patrolling the area, there are muggings that take place every so often.

*Traffic is an ongoing problem in the city, and just as much so in Higienópolis. The majority of the area's residents tend not to use public transportation, and instead opt for driving their own cars, or using private taxis or driving services. The traffic problem is compounded by there being no subway stations in the center of the area, the closest one being Marechal Deodoro, which borders the neighborhoods of Santa Cecília and Consolação, which is located at the end of Paulista Avenue. There is currently a station under construction near Mackenzie, which will be called Higienópolis and Paulista Stations, though still not being close to the highest residential areas of the neighborhood.

External links

* [http://www.patiohigienopolis.com.br/site/ Patio Higienópolis-Home Page]