The logic of the “reverse account”

Real estate profitability and public interest in the PIU Vila Leopoldina-Villa-Lobos urban project in São Paulo

Bibliographic Data

ID16950565
AuthorsIsadora Marchi De Almeida (0000-0001-9869-2145, Universidade de São Paulo), Paula Freire Santoro (0000-0002-3168-0868, Universidade de São Paulo)
Year2025
Pages1-28
Publication date2025-02-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueRevista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1517-4115 • E-ISSN: 2317-1529
PublisherRevista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais (RBEUR) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.22296/2317-1529.rbeur.202502en
OpenAlexW4407693134
LanguageEN
References cited31

This paper investigates changes in the logic underpinning the use of urban incentives in the form of inclusive housing policies, relating the relevant literature to the case study of the Vila Leopoldina-Villa-Lobos Urban Intervention Project (PIU-VL) in São Paulo-SP. The case reveals a shift in the mechanisms of municipal financing in which the traditional model of capturing the surplus value calculated from the available building potential of the territory has been transformed into an “inverse account”, in which the cost of executing public interest interventions (primarily housing) becomes the amount of surplus value to be captured. The paper concludes that the “inverse account” aligns with the dynamics of public-private partnerships, poses risks of subordinating public interest to the logics of the real estate and finance, and is structured around private real estate profitability not only as a foundational element, but above all, as a limiting factor for public-interest interventions, thereby weakening the commitments of the public authorities toward the affected population

Art · Business · Geography · Profitability index · Real estate · Urban and Rural Development Challenges · Finance

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