page_title: Mooca (district of São Paulo)
section_title: Urban development
hierarchical_section_title: Mooca (district of São Paulo) / Urban development
caption_attribution_description: English: High rises in Mooca Português: Condomínios residenciais na Mooca
context_page_description: Mooca from tupi mo-oka, meaning to build houses, is a district in the subprefecture of the same name in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Mooca today is home to over 75,000 inhabitants, spread in its 7.7 square kilometres. It is also considered one of the fastest growing districts in the city, experiencing over the last years a vigorous momentum in the construction industry. Mooca has been the stage for many social movements, specially because of the presence of a strong influence of the industry interests in the political scene of São Paulo towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. The composition of Mooca's economy today ranges from small businesses ran by locals, large industries, such as Lorenzetti and Groupe SEB, both important players locally and globally in the home appliances industry, and ultimately, large shopping malls offering a variety of services.
context_section_description: Mooca's atmosphere has always been that of an industrial suburb. Buildings, homes and warehouses façades preserve traces of the Italian legacy and it is not unusual to find old preserved vilas operárias, narrow cobbled residential streets in large abandoned industries surroundings, where the Italians and other workers from different countries first settled.
  However, this scenery has changed as in the last decades industries have been moving out of São Paulo for it has become increasingly expensive. As a result of this phenomenon, many warehouses and industries facilities were simply abandoned, creating perfect conditions for real estate speculation to turn Mooca into one of the fastest growing districts in Brazil's largest city, consolidating its momentum as a powerhouse in East São Paulo.
  Real estate speculation not only is taking place in residential areas, but also in major business areas all over the district. Office towers have been built recently, mainly along Avenida Paes de Barros. BRMalls, a Brazilian shopping centre & real state management corporation, has opened in November, 2011 a state-of-the-art shopping mall in the area, the Mooca Plaza Shopping spanning 112,000 m² (1,205,558 sq ft), and containing over 200 high-end stores.
  Due to Mooca's industrial nature, there is a lack of green spaces in the district. The local government holds a tree plantation program through which residents may have trees planted in their sidewalks at no cost. It is quite evident, when visiting some parts of Mooca, that there is a need for green areas and locals have long called for it. Over the past years, the attempts of the government to increase the amount of green spaces in Mooca, along with the launch of residential condominiums projects that adopt a “green” concept have indeed changed much of Mooca's gray landscape.
  Mooca is split into four sections (known as bairros), although these are often confused as they are very integrated and locals refer to them simply as Mooca:
  • Mooca: central area
  • Hipódromo: northwest, along the railway and Avenida Alcântara Machado, known as Radial Leste
  • Parque da Mooca: south, along Avenida Paes de Barros
  • Alto da Mooca: northeast, along Rua Siqueira Bueno extending to Rua da Mooca
caption: High rises, Alto da Mooca
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