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In trying to analyze the cost and spatial structure of city residences, the classic models of urban economics are for the most part focused on the costs of transportation, which places the greatest emphasis on how far the residence is from the workplace. Recreational accessibility and other amenities, including distance from the beach, have been the focus of many recent studies, and the high cost of beachfront lots along the coastal cities of Brazil, along with the growing demand for recreation, involve a strong relation between price and the access to and/or a view of the beach. The model developed in this study attempts to illustrate the relation between the demand for recreation and the cost of housing in coastal cities of Brazil. Besides, the model intends to explain the relation between residence costs, the size of the residence, outdoor leisure/recreational time, specially at the beach, by means of maximizing individual's utility. The utility function used is Cobb-Douglas type. Empirical results follow the presentation of the model, discussing two particular situations - those in which the individuals work in the same center and also when they work in different ones. The proposed model adds features to the previous ones allowing different side analyses such as: the demand for services related to recreation/leisure, the definition of urban limits of the city based on the prices families are willing to pay, the consideration of multiple centers of employment, multiple localities for recreation/leisure, along with the considerations of multiple workers in the families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban Renewal Projects (URPs) are concerned with degraded areas or areas that have some historical relevance where projects have been put in place to improve the social environment, the economy, infrastructure recovery and expansion of public areas, public transport and social housing. In urban development, public companies are created to manage these highly complex projects, supported by specific legal instruments. Currently, the average life cycle of these URPs is between 15 and 30 years, from conception to a project's completion. This long term process has consequences, such as obsolescence of projects, loss of objectivity, loss of control and loss of the historical value of the project. This paper studies the public company responsible for managing the URPs in São Paulo, analysing the management processes, organising them into groups of project management processes recommended in 'A guide to the project management body of knowledge', 5th edn, and identifying existing weaknesses in the processes, with the aim of developing an improved model for URP management. This study revealed the following: the lack of a responsible person or department to manage the project throughout its life cycle; a need for greater autonomy for SP Urbanismo (São Paulo's public company), which is São Paulo's public company; and a lack of efficiency in the controlling processes of the projects developed by this company. This paper is part of broader and more detailed research constituting an ongoing master's degree dissertation in the Post-graduate Civil Engineering programme at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo-EPUSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the Brazilian Model for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is described. It was conceived envisaging investments for the completion of new electric sustainable power plants. The objective is to present the main drivers in Brazilian regulatory system for private investors in what relates to risks configuration and investment decision-making, either Brazilian or foreign ones. We analyzed the investment in 5 Brazilian power plants that altogether constitute an electric power-generating complex in Juruena River, in the state of Mato Grosso, in Brazil. According to the results, we can conclude that the present legal framework is able to support investment in small hydroelectric and sustainable power plants, considering the existence of Engineering Procurement Contracts (EPC) for the completion phase and of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) for the operational phase as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1940's, Brazil has been passing through changes that have transformed it into a predominantly urban country. An exponential population growth and a rapid migration to urban areas have created a great demand for housing. As a result, the rapid growth of large and medium cities brought urban problems, with a large share of the low-income population agglomerated in substanstandard housing, on the out skirts of cities, contributing to urban deterioration. This paper will confront the housing necessities of the Brazilian low-income families and their capacity to pay the lowest price for an adequate housing unit in the formal market with the housing finance programs available in Brazil. Considering the demand for housing and the availability of programs and resource directed to finance low-income families, this paper will result on the size of the necessary additional financing resources to face the housing necessities of low-income families in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]