Within the framework of the President Néstor Kirchner (PNK) Fellowship sponsored by the Observatory on Latin America (OLA) and the Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) in Argentina, Paulo Alas Rossi, from Brazil, successfully completed a two-week academic exchange at The New School in New York.

Paulo Alas holds a Master’s degree in Landscape and Environment from the University of São Paulo as well as a Master’s degree in Marketing Management from the INSPER Institute. Paulo has over nine years of experience in affordable social housing and policy making and currently works at the Ministry of Cities. His work focuses on improving and monitoring the ‘My House, My Life Program’ (PMCMV) in Brazil.

Seminars at The New School Community

On November 8, 2017 Paulo presented his work during a closed-door Seminar to receive detailed feedback on his ongoing research, but also to introduce his topic from a new perspective. The seminar was attended by New School Professors Nidhi Srinivas, Christopher London, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, Alex Schwartz, Margarita Gutman, and Michael Cohen. They were joined by Masters and PhD students from the programs in Economics, Public and Urban Policies, and International Affairs.

During the seminar, Paulo stressed the infrastructural as well as the social costs of peripheralization. He highlighted the phenomenon of “peripheralization of the poor” as a policy problem. He explained that his work looks at the program’s site-selection process by adding a social dimension to an otherwise technical approach.

Interviews and Visits in New York

Paulo spent most of his time meeting with experts in the fields of economics and urban and public policy. He held individual meetings with New School professors Rachel Meltzer, Nidhi Srinivas, Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, and Alex Schwartz. He also met with Professor Ron Shiffman from the Pratt Institute, Tom Angotti from Hunter College, Solly Angel from NYU, and Salo Coslovsky from NYU. Furthermore, he met with PhD and Master’s students Achilles Kalergis from NYU, Pooya Ghorbanizigsari, Emie Abdelhafeez-Eshmawy, Douglass Salathe, and Maria Carrizosa.

He was a guest lecturer in Professor Gutman’s and Cohen’s graduate SGPIA class, “Urban Century. Theory and Practice” at the University Center. He also attended a lecture by Sergio Lenci, the Monitoring and Evaluation Advisor at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Public Lecture at the Orozco Room

The culmination of his visit was his presentation at the Public Lecture, Peripheralization of the Poor: Symbolic Practices and Policy Analysis, which took place on November 15, 2017 at The New School. He was introduced along with our Argentinian Fellow Sofía Bernat, by David Van Zandt, President of the New School, and Brazilian Deputy Consul General Lúcia Maierá. Mary Watson, Executive Dean of NSPE at the New School moderated the discussion. For more information about the public lecture, the presentation and comments click here.

+ Watch the video of the Public Lecture

+ What is it like to be a President Néstor Kirchner Fellow?, by Paulo Alas

+ View Paulo Alas Rossi’s Working Paper (Portuguese)

+ Download Paulo Alas’ Slideshow Presentation (2.40 MB)