Sao Paulo's 'Big Worm' must go, planners say

For 40 years, an elevated highway popularly known as the Minhocao has run through the center of Sao Paulo. A film called Elevado 3.5 (the number refers to its length in kilometers) documents some of what lies in its shadows: "a gritty stretch of secondhand shops and dingy diners," according to The Washington Post. 

"At night, prostitutes, crack dealers and the homeless gather under the Worm," The Post says. (The Minhocao was a giant mythical worm, reputed to inhabit the jungle and swallow whatever it came across.)

At a recent conference on the future of this Brazilian city of nearly 11 million, urban planners from around the world urged Sao Paulo to demolish the highway, which passes within 10 feet of some people's windows. 

“The developed world is demolishing structures like this," said Pedro Taddei Neto, an architect and urban planning expert at the University of Sao Paulo. "We have to follow their lead.”

Miguel Luiz Bucalem, secretary of urban development for Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, replied that the Worm cannot be razed unless other major transportation routes, such as a proposed underground expressway, have been built to replace it.