São Paulo Bicycle planning

Program Area: Planning & Advocacy for Cycling & Walking
Country: Brazil

With 20 million inhabitants in its metropolitan region, São Paulo is the fourth largest city in the world. With only under 30 kilometers of bike paths, the city is currently vastly underserved in terms of road space for bicycles, despite an estimated 400,000 bicycle users in greater São Paulo. Large volumes of aggressive traffic and car-oriented street design make cycling in São Paulo a dangerous proposition today.

With ever-worsening traffic jams and an automobile fleet that grows at 10 % a year, the city government is beginning to look to other solutions for mobility, including the bicycle. The global discussion on global warming has also reached municipal politics, thanks in part to the strong presence of the Clinton Climate Initiative, giving the bicycle even better visibility. 

ITDP’s main contribution to promoting cycling in São Paulo is focused on a pilot bicycle path in the neighborhood of Butantã. This 15 kilometer bike path goes by some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, strongly middle and working-class areas, and connects to one of the largest favelas – Paraísopolis. The bike path passes in front of the legendary Morumbí soccer stadium and goes to the Cidade Universitaria (University City), giving it excellent visibility and increasing its potential impact on other parts of the city.

ITDP also commissioned a report for a feeder network, which identified 58 kilometers of shared streets, sidewalks and bikeways to lead cyclists to the trunk bike path.

Given the high visibility of Butantã, this bike path represents a unique opportunity to promote cycling throughout the Mega-City. If successfully implemented, the network could be extended to surrounding neighborhoods and throughout the city, thereby lowering emissions, and improving mobility and quality of life in the economic engine of Brazil.