ABSTRACT
Urban growth and its particular transformations in the final decades of the last century are a worldwide phenomenon. Metropolitan São Paulo with 16.4 million inhabitants is part of it, and it is now facing the challenge of becoming a global city region. São Paulo metropolis has been widening its geographic area of influence and strengthening its polarization through the development of more specialized functions. Over time a new profile has been designed through the development of production-oriented activities like sophisticated information and financial services. As the state’s main urban agglomeration, the metropolis comprises 39 municipalities, stretching over 8,051 km2 (3,108 square miles). In 1991 its total built-up area was 1,771 km2 (684.0 square miles). This metropolitan region is the main business center of South America. It concentrates a major share of domestic and international offices and houses the headquarters of the 20 largest banks operating in Brazil, as well as 65 percent of the commerce and service buildings of the whole state of São Paulo. 1 The São Paulo region, 1995 https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203857779/c4c0aed9-0e14-422a-be66-e785cb5830b5/content/fig9_1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
