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Scattered throughout the Americas are my dear friends who, in different times and in distinct ways, have provided all kinds of support including encouragement, exchange of ideas, sources of information, and insights on urban life in the places that they live in Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, and the United States. My sincere thanks to all of them, with a special recognition to Marina D’Andrea, a courageous woman, a respected journalist, one of the forces behind the development of the Brazilian feminist press, and above all a dear friend who did not live to read the book that she knew I would complete. Wherever she is, I know she is rooting for me.
Likewise, I am grateful to Professors Karol Soltan, Ken Conca, and William Hanna, from the University of Maryland, for their support and timely academic advice. My thanks as well to Michael McAdams, a committed scholar and urban planner for his comments on this work, and for the opportunity to learn from him the dynamics of urbanization in other parts of the world; to Robert Loper and Joanne Foeller for their sound editorial assistance; to the hardworking Cambria Press professionals for their unwavering support; and to Grenda Vassoler, who contributed with archival research during my fieldwork in São Paulo.
I also express an enormous gratitude to my extended family in São Paulo for their endless support and affection. Finally, I am eternally grateful to my husband who has always believed in me more than I have; he is and has been my everlasting source of encouragement, motivation, and optimism. This book would not be possible without him (and this is absolutely serious). He has my eternal love.