Public affairs at the crossroads of meanings

• Autor(a) principal: Spink, Mary Jane Paris
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Cadernos Gestão Pública e Cidadania (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.fgv.br/cgpc/article/view/64253
• topic: Environmental policies; headwater reservoirs; social housing; discursive practices; urban poverty.; Políticas ambientales; embalses de cabecera; vivienda social; prácticas discursivas; la pobreza urbana.; Políticas ambientais; mananciais; moradias sociais; práticas discursivas; pobreza urbana.

The provision of water in the municipality of São Paulo depends on a system of reservoirs, of which two are particularly important: Cantareira, located in the north, and Guarapiranga-Billings, in the southern part of the city. Preservation of the headwaters of both systems is at present in conflict with the urgent need for housing, especially in the case of poorer sectors of the population that depend on informal settlements or social housing systems. This article derives from research carried out in the region where the headwaters of the Guarapiranga reservoir are located. It has a double aim. On one hand, it traces how environmental protection of the reservoir area has become a governmental issue; on the other hand, based on interviews and ethnographic approaches, it aims to discuss how environmental protection issues are dealt with on a day-to-day basis.