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7 The challenge of the future
Along with other large-scale investments, such projects, if implemented,
apart from bringing urban infrastructure and services to new levels of
service, would give an indication that Brazilian society is finally ready
for a far-reaching change of its historic pattern. In fact, it would correspond
to the ‘optimistic’ scenario of the Emplasa plan PMDI 93 referred
to earlier envisage, in which public expenditure would be put ona footing
consistent with the potential status of São Paulo as world city,
schooling, higher education and public health levels upgraded to ensure
the formation a skilled workforce needed both to keep up with the requirements
of tech the requirements
of technical progress both in manufactures and to operate the new branches
of industry in hi tech infrastructure and telecommunications, research
and development, widening range of services and expanding leisure time.
| In short, it would mean that the development potential of the most developed part of South America, the core also of Mercosul, has a good chance of becoming concrete reality – in fact this is the very condition for those investments to come through. It is worth reiterating, though, that in the end, while of course the biggest metropolitan agglomerations of the region -- São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro-- will certainly compete for primacy and the position of main centre of development and prestige, within Mercosul, the position of each of them as world city will rise or fall depending on the development of the region as a whole. | .  |
There is an analogy here with what is happening, albeit at a very different scale, with Amsterdam and Rotterdam, potential contenders for the position of the word-city of North-western Europe: whereas no doubt both will keep up their bid for primacy, they can not lose of sight the fact that only together – along with den Haag, Utrecht and the other towns in the same rther towns in the same region – they really stand a chance to become the great metropole of the Rijnmond.
On both sides of the Equator the end of the century brings the challenges
to late capitalist societies which are now largely concentrated in huge,
medium and small, always urban, agglomerations. These urban agglomerations
will have to produce an answer to the changes brought about by the latest
developments in our societies: total urbanization, but migration of the
work place away from manufactures; need for re-appraisal of social-democracy
as a political form of administration of social and spatial organization;
or the increase of leisure time and many others now brewing, to come to
the light in the future. That is quite a challenge –well worth facing up
to it.
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