RE-THINKING THE EDGE Sustainable redevelopment of Serrinha, favela in Florianopolis (Brazil)

The project breaks down the barriers between formal and informal cities, trying to develop the local economy of the community, making it also an attraction for people living outside Serrinha in order to establish a connection between the two cities that promote a cultural and economical exchange.

The field work that allowed me to come into contact with the community to understand its reality was crucial for the purposes of my thesis, trying to involve the community memebers and listening to their needs because, as we learn from Yona Friedman: “the satisfaction of future inhabitants is dictated by the realization of the architectural object.” It is thanks to my experience on-site that I discovered that one of the major critical aspects that characterizes Serrinha is the Food Market and Popular Restaurant; the latter was approved by the Prefecture in 2005 but it hasn't been developed yet. Being that trade is a key factor in community development, enhancing it would be helpful in order to integrate other activities at the edges of Serrinha into the existing commercial network, in order to create an opportunity for economic exchange, not only between communities but also between formal and informal cities. Local economy development creates meeting places for the members of the community, besides making Serrinha attractive for both those living in the formal city and for those tourists who are already "captured" by the privileged view on the landscape, which the favela enjoys. It thus promotes the exchange with the external economies, generating new income and employment sources, in order to eliminate the community's state of isolation.