Taking Back São Paulo’s Streets, One Sunday At A Time

Banning cars on Sundays transformed this major avenue in São Paulo, Brazil, seven days a week. Now locals, originally wary, are asking for more.

When the mayor of São Paulo, a sprawling Brazilian megalopolis with a population of over 12 million, decided that the city’s most famous avenue would close for cars on Sundays, the move was met with resistance from residents and business owners in the area.

Many were afraid that the car ban, enacted in 2016, would increase noise pollution and decrease sales along the iconic Paulista Avenue, with its six lanes of traffic. But nowadays, about three quarters of city residents believe the program should be expanded to other major streets, and managers of local stores, too, are hoping the ban can be expanded to other days of the week.

A 2019 report by a group of local NGOs found that 86% of store owners were in favor of the program, called Paulista Aberta. About 68% said the program had a positive effect on their business.

“With the closing for cars, people started to walk a lot more, to stroll around, and the sales on Sundays grew sevenfold,” says Erivan Soares, manager of Martins Fontes, a large bookstore located on Paulista Avenue. “It was the best thing that could have happened for us. Sundays are now, by far, our busiest days.”

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