Title not available in English.

Abstract

This paper outlines an analysis of intra-urban demography in São Paulo, by means of differentials among rates of population growth, densities and age distributions of the several spatial segments of the city. In trying to analyze together housing and demographic variables, it associates the youth of the peripheral population to the housing model prevalent till the eighties - irregular allotment; self-help and home ownership. The data show changes in this peripheral pattern for the last decade: the population growth rate of the central zone (mainly the interior ring) has been greater than that of the periphery. This would be explained by the increase of inner city slums and by verticalization. This tendency was already visible from census data of 1970 and 1980, which show an increase in the number of slums and in the proportion of tenants. The finding that age groups and housing types are localized in specific ways over intra-urban space is fundamental for planning work. As Dante would say, although the Municipality has a greater tendency toward devilish drama than lo divine comedy, in Hell as in São Paulo each circle has its own personality.