The City of Helicopters: Impacts on the Urban Environment

A Cidade Dos Helicopteros: Impactos No Meio Urbano

This paper describes how Sao Paulo, a vast city and center of local, national and international business, offers excellent business and investment opportunities, as well as a wide service network. The traffic jams on its main arteries and urban violence are stimulating the use of helicopters by businessmen, executives and celebrities as a transportation alternative to avoid the streets. In order to serve a fleet of 450 helicopters, which circulate through 18 aerial corridors with its traffic controlled by the local Aviation Department, there are 275 helipads in the city, 172 of them approved and regulated by the Civil Aviation Department and 23 licensed by the municipality. Most of them concentrate in privileged regions such as the Brigadeiro Faria Lima and Paulista Avenues, the headquarters of important companies, national and international banks. This kind of transportation is causing environmental problems, especially related to sound pollution. The degradation of environment quality presents a hindrance for the promotion of urban sustainability, a question to be resolved by the municipality as to the soil regulation and the territorial ordainment aim to improve quality of life conditions. The use of helicopters as a means of transportation is inevitable however, it needs the implementation of government control and surveillance mechanisms that regulate this activity in the urban context and minimizing the environmental impacts. This is an opportune moment for the realization of studies to assess the devaluation of environmental quality caused by the helipads and to present corrective and preventive measures.

• Corporate Authors:

  Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie

  Rua da Consolacao, 930
  , Sao Paulo  Brazil 

  Brazilian Pavement Association

  Miguel Couto 105, Sobrelojas 204 e 205
  Rio de Janiero, CEP 20070-030,   Brazil 
• Authors:
  • de Almeida, Carlos
  • Horimoto, Roberta
  • Ribeiro, Gislene Passos
• Conference:
  • 2003 International Conference. Airports: Planning, Infrastructure & Environment
  • Location: Rio de Janiero , Brazil
  • Date: 2003-6-8 to 2003-6-11
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• Portuguese

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: References;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: 2003 International Conference. Airports: Planning, Infrastructure & Environment

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation; City planning; Environmental impacts; Helicopter transportation; Quality of life; Sound; Traffic congestion; Urban areas; Violent crimes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Helipads
• Geographic Terms: Sao Paulo (Brazil)
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Environment; Planning and Forecasting; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01144368
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 01-001
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Nov 17 2009 2:58PM