EM BUSCA DE UM OBJETO ESQUECIDO: A política e as políticas do urbano no Brasil

Abstract

Agradeço a leitura atenta e os comentários detalhados de Renata Bichir, Camila Saraiva e Valéria Macedo à versão anterior deste texto.

The contradictions of participatory planning: Reflections on the role of politics in urban development in Niterói, Brazil

“…Foregrounded by the debate about the role of power in planning processes, in this article I argue that the paradox of participation in Brazil has to be understood by looking to the state and its relationship to economic interests, which ultimately reveals contradictions in participatory planning processes. I use the dual concepts of the relational fabric of the state and state permeability to show how state and nonstate actors are connected through formal and informal relationships (Marques, 2017). This also shows how the state can be both a central actor in the production of policies, while at the same time it is insulated and penetrated by private agents.…”

“…Clientelism, however, is a relatively secret phenomenon, while evidence about it is indirect and measurement is often based on perceptions (Avritzer, 2016). Indeed, Marques (2017) suggests that though the role of politics and corruption is an implicit, unresearched area, some information suggests connections of local political and economic elites with capital, generating avenues for private sector influence on urban policies.…”

“…As a result, the relationship connecting local elites to economic interests is not as dependent as in the U.S. case. Although the growth machine has been used in Brazil (Fix, 2009), the relationships between these actors are more political, more mediated by access to public funds, and more linked to elections than to the promotion of land policies as suggested by the urban growth machine literature (Marques, 2017). This suggests a need for a theory that better responds to the context of Brazilian urban development.…”

“…Following Marques (2017), an understanding of this dynamic more specific to the Brazilian context is based on two dual notions: (a) the relational fabric of the state and (b) state permeability. First, the relational fabric of the state shows how patterns of state and nonstate actors are connected through formal and informal relationships that internally structure the state and couple it with the broader political environment.…”

Os “altos círculos” no mercado de transportes em São Paulo

“…Talvez esse seja um dos principais legados espaciais e de políticas públicas enquadrando a dinâmica política e as preferências de empresas, burocracias, usuários e governos. Isso sugere, ainda que de maneira nuançada se comparada à economia política da incorporação, a existência de um caráter inercial específico ao setor, associado ao espaço entendido como fluxo (Marques, 2017), e um tipo de trajetória dependente espacial na construção das políticas e dos serviços de ônibus.…”