In the ensuing decades, Vila Carrão could not escape from the economic and social problems of the big city that engulfed it. It has long lost the quiet suburban atmosphere still remembered by its older residents, who until the 1960s and 1970s would put out chairs on the sidewalk, every evening, and spend some time chatting with their neighbours while their children played in the streets. Today, as in most parts of the city, houses are walled up, windows are behind bars, and the streets are no longer suitable for play or chat.