Abstract
This research analyses the extreme consequences of platform capitalism on the fragile urban composition of informal settlements in São Paulo, Brazil. The illusion of immateriality often hides the very physical effects of platform economies on urban space. Hidden effects include uncontrolled space consumption, slowdown of public transport development, variations of real estate prices and boost of gentrification. In the present crisis, digital economies workers are, as usual, the most exposed class, and in some cases the only that is forced to work at their own risk. This research describes, through tools of urban analysis and data science, the inequality that pervades this system and aims to imagine architectural devices that act within and against this framework. Quantitative analysis has been made possible thanks to the access of huge data sets and this works provides accurate mappings on phenomena that are usually hard to visualize on urban scale such as the use of Uber and Instagram or the presence of Airbnb. Starting from these hidden dynamics three projects imagine monumental devices for wealth redistribution in the global city. Reversing the relationship between digital and physical space these projects state a new paradigm for a post-crisis urban governance that protects its most fragile and crowded areas for the benefit of the whole urban environment. This research was born as my thesis project co-tutored by Stefano Boeri (Politecnico of Milan) and Francisco Spadoni ( FAU, University of São Paulo).
