Francisco Prestes Maia (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɾɐ̃ˈsisku ˈpɾɛstʃiz ˈmajjɐ]) (19 March 1896 – 26 April 1965) was a Brazilian architect, civil engineer, urban planner, and professor, who served three terms as mayor of the city of São Paulo.

[citation needed] In 1961, Prestes Maia was finally elected by popular vote and began his third term as mayor of São Paulo in 1961.

[citation needed] Prestes Maia and his Plano de Avenidas had a lasting impact on the geography of São Paulo.

[3] [4] [5] [6] On August 27, 1997, the city of São Paulo passed a law (Lei nº 12.443) creating the Prestes Maia Urbanism Award (Prêmio Prestes Maia de Urbanismo) to be awarded every four years[7] with the idea of proposing initiatives in urban planning and engineering.

: Brazil's longest highway, BR-101, is also still popularly known as Rodovia Prestes Maia for much of its 4,800 km (3,000 mi),[27][28][29][30][31] despite having been officially renamed more than a decade ago to honor another politician from São Paulo, Mário Covas.

[32] Rodovia Governador Mário Covas, as BR-101 has officially been known since 2001,[32] passes through twelve Brazilian coastal states in three of the country's five geographic regions: In addition to the many public roads named for Francisco Prestes Maia in the state of São Paulo and throughout Brazil, several buildings and cultural institutions also bear his name, either as an honor to him or because they are located on or near a roadway named “Prestes Maia.” One particularly noteworthy building that is commonly referred to as Prestes Maia is a 22-story abandoned factory in downtown São Paulo, located near the Luz train station.

The two tower blocks at 911 Avenida Prestes Maia are still registered to the long-defunct former owner, National Cloth Company (Companhia Nacional de Tecidos).

Since the 2000s there have been successive occupations by poor and/or homeless individuals connected to squatter's rights groups such as the Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto (MTST), a local homeless rights group affiliated with the national Landless Workers' Movement, or Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (MST).

[35] The Prestes Maia Gallery is subterranean cultural space that connects the Praça da Patriarca to the Valé do Anhangabaú in São Paulo's historic center.