:: Paraisópolis ("Paradise city", from ''paraiso'' paradise ( Portuguese) and ''-polis'' city (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

)) is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

city, which is part of the

Vila Andrade Vila Andrade is one of 96 districts in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-larg ...

district, in the south zone. It is located adjacent to the affluent district of Morumbi. Paraisópolis is a

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...

and is the largest squatted informal settlement in the city. Unofficial estimates have suggested that Paraisópolis has a population between 60,000 and 100,000+ people. The 2022 census indicated 58,527 individuals but, as one report states, "There is inherent difficulty to measure these territories as they are extremely dynamic and, to a great extent, do not have either officially established boundaries or registered housing units." Paraisópolis is known for a 2004 picture by photographer Tuca Vieira. It is considered one the most well-known pictures of Brazil and was taken for the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper. It highlights social inequality, both in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

in general.

References

Favelas Neighbourhoods in São Paulo Squatting in Brazil {{MesoregionSãoPaulo-geo-stub