Building an instrument to support and encourage the development of neighborhood plans in the city of São Paulo

Abstract

Neighborhoods are promising units for urban planning and management, as they articulate the public sector with communities to solve urban issues more efficiently, effectively and improve the quality of life for the local population. They correspond to the "intermediate urban scale", that is, between that of buildings and that of urbanized regions. Its scientific approach is complex and still insufficient, both in Brazil and abroad, regarding concepts and methods appropriate to this scale, as well as recognition and legitimacy of agents involved, and demonstration of results. The need to draw up neighborhood plans in the municipality of São Paulo has been pointed out since the 1960s. The Strategic Master Plan (PDE) of the municipality of São Paulo (MSP) of 2014, revised in 2023, is the main urban public policy responsible for guiding urban development and stablish, among others, that the City Hall of São Paulo (PMSP) should coordinate and encourage the development of neighborhood plans in the municipality. However, there is a lack of a framework that could guide the design and regulation of neighborhood plans, with relevant content, and presenting appropriate methods for promoting local development and instructing on how to prepare a neighborhood plan. It is in this process of "Public Policies under Construction" that this research project is inserted, with the objective of investigating and establishing support procedures for the elaboration and management of neighborhood plans in the city of São Paulo. It is intended to generate a guiding instrument for the execution of this component of the PDE, which benefits the population of the municipality as a whole, based on an appropriate addressing of local issues. It will be a scientific contribution of the "Fast Science" type, with scientific syntheses and direct support to public management processes. The work will be carried out in 24 months, with a bibliographic, historical, institutional, regulatory and normative study, as well as a survey and systematization of open data and those made available by the PMSP. In order to gather perceptions and additional information, discussion and participation dynamics will be carried out with public managers and other invited agents, as well as civil society organizations from the case study neighborhoods. The Municipal Department of Urban Planning and Licensing (SMUL) is the partner institution in the project and is legally responsible for implementing the municipality's urban development policy. SMUL will actively participate in the development of the research, with discussions and assessments of the content produced and collaborative work with the research team. The target audience is the MSP population. The main risks of the project involve participatory activities with the communities of the case studies and agents external to SMUL, possible changes in urban legislation and changes in the political priorities of the new government, in 2025. Scientific results include reports and scientific articles, published in journals, events and the USP repository. For public management, there will be technical notes, presentations, participation in meetings and public discussions, as well as the guidance document for the development of neighborhood plans that can be published by the City Hall. (AU)