Right to the City: How Coliseu Won Housing Among São Paulo's Elite

In many communities across the world, economic development too often comes with a sinister side effect: displacement of poor and vulnerable residents. As a community attracts jobs, businesses and people, demand for housing and land may cause its poorest residents to be pushed out—either by forced eviction or by the increasing cost of living. While some may think this is an inevitable outcome of development, it doesn’t have to be. In Brazil, one legal instrument was designed specifically to prevent this phenomenon. This multimedia case study set in the context of informal settlements and extreme inequality in Brazil highlights two innovative urban instruments that could be used to prevent displacement and spatial inequality: the Urban Operation and ZEIS (Special Social Interest Zone). This story is an example of the outcome of these two instruments working together to combat displacement and highlights the potential of ZEIS to impact land policy and urban planning worldwide.