Planning in conditions of rapid socio-environmental change: a theoretical-methodological framework for comparative analysis

Abstract

This project examines the field of territorial planning in the contemporary period of rapid socio-environmental change. It is expected that there will be a contribution to the field conducting a study update and deepening the knowledge about the subject through a research abroad and discussing international perspectives facing characteristics of emerging countries, such as Brazil, considering that in different contexts the practice and training in planning are also different. The study specifically contributes to the progress of the Thematic Project "Environmental Governance of the Macrometropole Paulista in the face on climatic variability" (MEGa) that will last until 2022. For these purposes, a theoretical and methodological approach will be structured regarding comparative analysis, object and method of the project. In a deductive-inductive dialogue, it is expected to systematize the theoretical-reflexive content and practices involving case studies in Germany (European Union) and Brazil (Latin America). The EU-wide approach named planning culture and planning system, as a set of values and practices and its (or not) formalization through institutional or normative structures, is a reference for the evolution of spatial planning and for comparative analyses and will be used in the research. Finally, the expected result is to contribute for the debate about the redefinition of the planning field and the compared analysis, such as which will be done in the MEGa project, facing the challenges of a scenario of rapid transformation, influenced by neoliberalism and the reduction of the role of the State, intense social inequalities and global environmental system such as climate changes