Pereira Passos: Um Haussman (Pereira Passos: A Haussman) by Jayme Larry Benchimol is A detailed study of the urban reform process that took place in the early 20th Century. The city is presented in a new urban, political and economic light. If the demolitions and avenue openings allowed Rio de Janeiro to meet modern commercial, financial and administrative needs, they also led to the destruction of hundreds of old piers, wooden piers, sets of colonial houses, altering dramatically the urban cityscape. Divergent interests led to a period marked by conflict.