Santana is a district which, despite formerly being a central core north of São Paulo, was long isolated from the rest of the city due to natural barriers such as the Rio Tietê and Serra da Cantareira.

Since then, like the rest of the city, Santana has developed rapidly due to industrialization and the wealth generated by the coffee trade throughout the State of São Paulo.

The district is served by four stations of Line 1 (Blue) of the São Paulo Metro, the Campo de Marte Airport and the Tietê Bus Terminal.

The district attracts increasingly more visitors (mostly, but no longer exclusively, on business) because of the Anhembi Convention Center.

Santana is one of the fastest growing districts in the city, experiencing a boom in construction of residential properties in the last few years.