Apartments, São Paulo

I like these apartments in São Paulo because, to me, they show the process of, if not gentrification, then certainly maintenance and restoration of older buildings. Both good and bad aspects.

One of the obvious signs are the partial paint job yet there is no sign of paint or scaffolding or other materials to complete the job. Also some of the balconies have been enclosed which I personally think is a shame but then I don't live in an apartment block.

A less obvious sign of the possibly gentrification is the footpath in front of the building. It appears to me that individual buildings in Brazilian cities are responsible for their part of the footpath so you can get variations such as we see here.