Marginal Wisdom: The City Through an Ancestral-Peripheral Lens in the Case of Ilê Asé Odé

Abstract

The project begins with a rupture. In December 2022, Ilê Asé Odé Ibualamo, a traditional territory of African matrix, was demolished to make way for the expansion of an avenue over the Cadaval stream, in Favela do Capriotti, Carapicuíba, on the outskirts of the São Paulo metropolitan area. The intervention, led by public authorities, repeats a familiar pattern of socio-environmental damage: it prioritizes asphalt, erases the river, and disregards the community and its right to remain. In response, the project proposes a different possibility for the city, demonstrating that viable alternatives exist. By diverting the avenue away from the stream, a linear park emerges, restoring the presence of water and native vegetation. In the void left by the demolition, a living memorial is born to honor the history of the Ilê. At the center of the path, a public facility dedicated to the knowledge of Traditional Peoples of African Matrix (POTMA).  The project positions itself as a technical tool to support the local struggle and as a contribution to the construction of counter-hegemonic frameworks in the field of urbanism.