A participação nos conselhos gestores como expressão do direito à cidade: construção de portal eletrônico de participação popular e análise do processo de revisão do Plano Diretor de Belém/PA

Abstract

The research analyzes the intersection between social participation and popular participation in the process of review of the cities’ master plans. In particular, it examines social and popular participation in the review of the Belém’s Master Plan (MP) started in 2019 due to the need, established by the Brazilian City Statute. The Statute determines that every cities’ master plans should be reviewed in a period of 10 years. Methodologically, the participation analysis took place in two ways. The first from a non-participating observation in the meetings of the Urban Development Council (UDC); and, second by examining popular participation in an electronic participation portal developed in the research process (Portal Participe!- https://participe.info) to receive citizens’ contributions interested on the city collective construction. The portal presents itself, at the same time, as a methodological tool for data collection and as a research product, since, when it was presented to UDC and to the Mayor of Belém, it started to be used as one of the main tools to receive people criticism about the previous Master Plan and also contributions to the construction of the revised version. It is understood, therefore, that the research took a double character, one of an applied research from the Portal Participe! use and another from a critical and reflexive analysis of the, form and quality of social participation taking the Lefèbvre (2015) theoretical perspective of Right to the City. The theoretical question that guided the research was: to what extent social participation in the construction of master plans promotes assignning of the right to the city? Three underlying empirical questions emerged from the theoretical question: how social participation has been carrying out in the review of the Belém’s Master Plan? How has UDC conducted interaction between social participation and popular participation? How effective is electronical participation? The research shows that, although social participation promotes assignning of the Right to the City in achieving master plans, there is still low the population's commitment to express their demands and desires. In the case of Belém, public authorities deals with social participation as a mere condition of legality. For example, when social interactions was limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic, public hearings were completely replaced by virtual consultations. Although electronic participation is important to the Master Plan revision, the City Hall and UDC sought to use it only in formal way, loosing the opportunity to increase the effectiveness of popular participation. Thus, City Hall and UDC used the electronic participation as amere instrument for legal and political assistance. In spite of the Portal Participe! had induced electronical popular participation in various educational spaces, meetings and events that took place to discuss the Master Plan revision, there was little people engagement. The research shows that so far the model of social participation for Belém Urban Master Plan revision is apartheid from the city population and thus the decisions may be limited to the UDC elected Councilors.