Illegal occupation, linked to processes of land speculation, generates various social and environmental tensions. These conflicts are reinforced by the weakness of institutions and by the conflict of interests between economic agents. Most of the studies about the processes of occupation of the peri-urban areas in the region of São Paulo State, Brazil, assume that the Watershed Protection Act (WPA) causes fall in land prices. Therefore, this study brings a discussion about the urbanization of water sources areas in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, assessing the influence of the WPA in irregular occupations and the devaluation or valorization of lands located in these areas. The results show that the behavior of the agricultural land prices of municipalities nearby the watershed areas were not significantly affected by the WPA. In this case, the predominant influence was the macroeconomic policy of the Brazil’s Real Plan.
Las ocupaciones ilegales, vinculadas a los procesos especulativos del mercado de tierras, generan numerosas tensiones ambientales y sociales. Estos conflictos se ven reforzados por la debilidad de las instituciones y los choques de intereses entre los agentes económicos. La mayoría de los estudios sobre los procesos de ocupación de las zonas rurales periurbanas en el Estado de Sao Paulo, Brasil, se basan en la suposición de que de la Ley de Protección de los Manantiales (LPM) se genera la caída de los precios de las tierras. En este contexto, el presente estudio aporta un análisis de la urbanización de estas áreas en los manantiales de la región metropolitana de Sao Paulo, del control de la influencia de la LPM en las ocupaciones y de la depreciación/valorización de terrenos ubicados en esa zona. Los resultados muestran que el comportamiento de los precios de las tierras agrícolas de los municipios pertenecientes a las cuencas hidrográficas de la zona no estuvo influenciado por la LPM. La influencia predo inante, en este caso, es la de las políticas macroeconómicas del plan real de Brasil.
Illegal occupation, linked to processes of land speculation, generates various social and environmental tensions. These conflicts are reinforced by the weakness of institutions and by the conflict of interests between economic agents. Most of the studies about the processes of occupation of the peri-urban areas in the region of São Paulo State, Brazil, assume that the Watershed Protection Act (WPA) causes fall in land prices. Therefore, this study brings a discussion about the urbanization of water sources areas in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, assessing the influence of the WPA in irregular occupations and the devaluation or valorization of lands located in these areas. The results show that the behavior of the agricultural land prices of municipalities nearby the watershed areas were not significantly affected by the WPA. In this case, the predominant influence was the macroeconomic policy of the Brazil’s Real Plan.