Tekoá and the São Paulo Macrometropolis: Reflections on the Social Production of Space

This chapter has attempted to reflect on the social production of space in the São Paulo Macrometropolis (SPMM) based on the authors’ research, highlighting the need for a variety of lenses to analyse a plural and diverse SPMM. In order to characterise this territory, the hard/soft spaces approach was used as a guiding thread. Also, some foundational themes, such as the axes of flows, transport and logistics, were considered in dialogue with current plans and formal planning practices. In a complementary way, the macrometropolitan-urban-industrial functional logic was discussed from the perspective of macrometropolitan ruralities, in an attempt to shed light on this territory, to perceive its specificities that deviate from the planning logic established by the State, and to explore possible typologies for new research agendas. In this way, we contribute to the ongoing debate on the territoriality of the macrometropolis, its state and non-state practices, formal and non-formal spaces, in a context of environmental crisis. For planning, which is directly influenced by territorial dynamics, understanding these processes is essential for changing the status quo. Whether by understanding the structures that reveal and determine the organisation of the territory, or by understanding the diversity and plurality of space.