Financing Local Historic Preservation:

The case of New York City and São Paulo

Abstract

The Federal Constitution of 1988 establishes that the State and the community must preserve the Brazilian heritage through its protection and promotion. Through the government institution, the promotion can be carried out by granting financial incentives that contribute to the preservation of built heritage. Therefore, since a significant part of the immovable heritage is concentrated in downtown areas, some Brazilian cities have implemented the Transfer of Constructive Potential (TPC) as a financial incentive to designated properties. This urban instrument was established by the City Statute (Law 10.257/2001), but some Brazilian municipalities, for example, São Paulo, already used it long before its passing by federal law. The mechanism has its version in other countries, and the city of New York was one of the pioneers in its implementation with the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) in 1916. In this text, we propose to analyze the TDR in New York and the TPC in São Paulo, observing their operationalization processes, identifying the points of divergence and convergence between them, and evaluating their execution until now.