An elevated highway that snakes its way through the centre of the city, it weaves through the tightly packed apartment buildings to connect the east to the west.
São Paulo’s authorities estimate around 34,000 people are sleeping rough on the streets this year while figures from the Federal University of Minas Gerais put the number closer to 50,000.
The homeless population has soared more than 31% since the pandemic, and the number of families sleeping rough has risen 111% in the same time period, according to the city council.
Home to one of São Paulo’s original favelas, today the site houses 20 or so families, each living in a little box that looks similar to a shipping container and measures 18 sq m.
“Traditionally, those who are living on the streets are mostly male with some mental problems and issues with their families,” says Raquel Rolnik, professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning of the University of São Paulo.
São Paulo’s largest favela is Paraisópolis (Paradise City in English), a name resident Eliane Carmo da Silva, who lives in a cramped room with mould growing on the walls, finds ironic.
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