WHO WE ARE
INTEGRATING NATURE INTO CITIES
Floresta Urbana is a pioneering São Paulo entity in urban-environmental actions. It was founded in 2008 by USP post-graduate thinkers and actors with the objective of strategically integrating Nature into large cities, incorporating the most advanced precepts of sustainability and development.
Floresta Urbana is formed by a multidisciplinary team composed of architects, artists, biologists, landscape designers, environmental educators, marketing professionals, and others.
Floresta Urbana was born inspired by the doctoral thesis titled “Nature in Megacities – Environmental Services of Urban Forests” by Dr.-Ing. Jörg Spangenberg from Bauhaus/FAUUSP in 2010. The revised and updated thesis was published by EdUSP in 2019 as an illustrated 200-page book (ISBN 978-85-314-1711-5).
The work shows that the vegetation still existing in the municipality of São Paulo generates benefits exceeding 4 billion reais annually due to its location in a tropical megalopolis!
The professionals of Floresta Urbana plan and develop services and projects aligned with the most comprehensive sustainability concepts. The artistic bias of our interventions appeals to aesthetic enjoyment to intensify the transmission of sustainability concepts and enhance one of the objectives of our work: uniting the beautiful and the useful.
Dr.-Ing. Jörg Spangenberg
Technical Director and current president – founder, engineer-architect-urbanist-artist with a doctorate (BAUHAUS/FAUUSP), registered in major projects in Urban Megacities and planning in São Paulo, published by EADSP in 2019. Co-founded Floresta Urbana with João Godoy and Thelma Almeida Santos.
Thelma Almeida
Advertiser, co-founder, with expertise in mass media, crafts, main liaison with media and companies, and responsible for business planning.
Edison Santos Oliveira
Biologist, environmental education manager, instructor, and facilitator of agroecology and permaculture.
Francisco Carlos Lopes
Holds a degree in Biology (insect studies) from the University of Mogi das Cruzes. Entrepreneur for 28 years. Conducts courses on Urban Agriculture and Urbanism at São Judas University; currently works as a farmer in São Paulo.
Natália Mara Mancini
Geographer and environmental educator, instructor of urban agroecology and permaculture. Experienced in low-income community engagement and environmental solutions. Photography enthusiast.
Wolfram Lange
Geographer from the University of Cologne, Germany. Has 15 years of experience in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applied to carbon balance and environmental analyses for the environmental sector, urban planning, and socio-spatial structures. Has delivered dozens of courses and lectures at universities.
Dr. João Godoy
Biologist, founder, focused on plant biodiversity, ecosystems restoration, and secondary succession. Holds a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of São Paulo.