No 4 (2019)
Planning with self‑organised initiatives

168 pages

ISBN 978-94-6366-168-3

2019-05-03
https://doi.org/10.7480/abe.2019.4

No 4 (2019)
Planning with self‑organised initiatives

168 pages

ISBN 978-94-6366-168-3

2019-05-03
https://doi.org/10.7480/abe.2019.4

Book (Full version)

  • Cover Image
    Planning with self‑organised initiatives

    Over the last half century, the Global South has faced a strong rise in the rate of urbanisation. Although this process differs from region to region, rapid urbanisation has created many challenges for countries in the Global South. Brazil is no different. The largest country in South America has jumped from an urban population of 44.67% in 1960 to 84.36% in 2010, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2018). While urban growth is relatively stable in Brazil today, the challenges that came with the rapid increase will be felt for many years to come. One of the main challenges was created due to this urban growth not being organised. The main growth in the cities was due to an opportunity-led development, which produced an extremely unequal urban fabric with spatial discontinuities and left-over spaces. Planning institutions have attempted to overcome this spatial fragmentation problem, but have faced many difficulties.

    This thesis demonstrates that spatial fragmentation in Brazilian metropolises is not only related to spatial discontinuities, but also to socioeconomic inequalities. This means that the physical connection between disconnected spaces does not necessarily create social connections between segregated groups. Walls in Brazil are not only physical but also social. This thesis investigates self-organised initiatives as possible entities to dismantle these invisible walls. Such initiatives help to create social connections between highly diverse groups in the public spaces of cities which have a high level of socioeconomic inequality. The cases of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília reveal a growth in the integration level from functional to symbolic, and even to community level in areas where these self-organised initiatives have been active. This increase in social connection between highly diverse groups has a positive impact on the resilience capacity of the urban system, improving the capacity for closer cooperation in the face of unexpected change.

    The thesis begins by analysing the spatial fragmentation of Brazilian metropolises and how this relates to resilience. Chapter 2 develops the concept of ‘porosity’ as a metaphor for these spatial discontinuities in the Brazilian metropolitan context. Data from IBGE was used to create a porosity index and generate a comparative perspective on all of the Brazilian metropolises. The index reveals that cities have very different factors composing their porosity, which in turn create different threats and opportunities regarding the resilience capacity of each city. Certainly, it is important to recognise the particularities of each context, and in this way the porosity index provides a starting point for understanding the spatial fragmentation occurring within Brazilian metropolises. Chapter 3 focuses on the two metropolises with the highest porosity index, Belém and Manaus, to examine how urban policies may affect their spatial fragmentation. The thesis uses the federal government’s Minha Casa, Minha Vida (MCMV) social housing programme to investigate the relationship between such programmes and spatial fragmentation. Using GIS-generated maps, it was possible to visualise the pattern of each case of fragmentation and overlap these with the location of the developments in the MCMV programme. The chapter reveals that despite reducing the housing deficit for the low-income segment, the MCMV programme is having a strong negative impact by raising the level of spatial fragmentation already present in both metropolises.

    In Chapters 4 and 5, the relationship between spatial fragmentation and self-organised initiatives is analysed. Using cases from São Paulo, Chapter 4 investigates how spatial fragmentation is influencing the work of such self-organised initiatives. It shows that the spatial fragmentation of São Paulo has a strong polarised structure, with the city centre as the main pole. Fragmentation in São Paulo is based on a dichotomy between centre and periphery that also influences where self-organised initiatives operate. Nevertheless, as Chapter 5 demonstrates, the initiatives studied are able to integrate people from extremely diverse socioeconomic contexts, even when being limited by spatial fragmentation. This social disconnection in contexts of inequality is one of the underlying forces driving spatial fragmentation in Brazil. In this sense, this integration capacity of self-organised initiatives is an important resource to tackle fragmentation in Brazilian metropolises and has been attracting the interest of urban planners.

    While there is a lot of potential for self-organised initiatives to be integrated into planning strategies in Brazilian metropolises, this is still not being explored by public authorities in the cities studied. The interaction between self-organised initiatives and public institutions is generally problematic and conflictual, despite the participation of some public servants in these initiatives. Much can be done to improve the relationship between self-organised initiatives and public authorities, and this conclusion led to the key recommendations of this investigation. The thesis also points to the active participation of urban planners in these initiatives, with even those who perform technical functions in public institutions becoming active. The results of Chapter 5 show that planners demonstrate a strong belief in the work of self-organised initiatives and their positive impact. Their engagement calls for further examination of the role of planners in such initiatives and their impact in other areas beyond spatial fragmentation.

    Despite being scientifically well grounded and having societal relevance, doctoral theses are frequently forgotten in the repositories of universities. With this in mind, this thesis aimed to not only be scientifically sound but to also have a strong societal impact. In addition to publishing articles as part of the thesis, I also explored other methods to improve its societal impact, making the research available on two open online platforms: the Global Urban Lab and the Rethink the City MOOC. The former aims to synthesise the findings and discussions of research in a manner accessible to the general public, while the latter aims to apply the research in planning education. Education can be an efficient tool to generate societal impact based on doctoral research, especially if connected to a massive educational tool such as a MOOC. The Rethink the City MOOC is presented here as a case study on how to generate societal impact by combining doctoral research and online education. The challenges and process of developing the Rethink the City MOOC are discussed in Chapter 6, which also presents some of the satisfactory results from the course, with 17,278 participants registering for the first two editions. This experience demonstrates how much impact doctoral research can have when aligned with online education.

    Over the last half century, the Global South has faced a strong rise in the rate of urbanisation. Although this process differs from region to region, rapid urbanisation has created many challenges for countries in the Global South. Brazil is no different. The largest country in South America has jumped from an urban population of 44.67% in 1960 to 84.36% in 2010, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, 2018). While urban growth is relatively stable in Brazil today, the challenges that came with the rapid increase will be felt for many years to come. One of the main challenges was created due to this urban growth not being organised. The main growth in the cities was due to an opportunity-led development, which produced an extremely unequal urban fabric with spatial discontinuities and left-over spaces. Planning institutions have attempted to overcome this spatial fragmentation problem, but have faced many difficulties.

    This thesis...

    Over the last half century, the Global South has faced a strong rise in the rate of urbanisation. Although this process differs from region to region, rapid urbanisation has created many challenges for countries in the Global South. Brazil is no different. The largest country in South America...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    1-168

Book Chapters

  • Introduction

    Brazilian planning authorities have faced many criticisms over the last half century. Even Brasília, the new modernist capital, established in 1960, has been heavily criticised in recent decades (Ferreira Nunes & Bandeira, 2004; Fragomeni, Fonseca, & Brandao, 2016; Gehl & Rogers, 2013; Holston, 1993). It is common to associate Brazilian metropolises with violence, chaos and inequality. These negative images are not only imbedded in the popular mind, but are also reflected in well-known research. São Paulo has been framed as the ‘City of Walls’ (Caldeira, 2000) and Rio de Janeiro has been referred to as part of the ‘Planet of Slums’ (Davis, 2006). While both cities face challenges that go beyond urban planning, it is fair to assume that planning has been unable to cope with the changes both cities faced in the last half century. The southeast region of Brazil, for example, where the two biggest cities are located, grew from an urbanisation rate of 57% in 1960 to 92.95% in the last census in 2010 (IBGE, 2018). This urban growth did not occur in an orderly fashion. Cities developed without strategic coordination, mainly driven by the economic opportunism of the moment, which resulted in an uneven and disconnected urban patchwork. The result of this opportunity-led development is the well-known fragmentation and inequality represented by the walls and slums described by Caldeira and Davis. In this thesis, fragmentation refers not only to the difference in the spatial characteristics of distinct areas of a city, but also to the lack of connection between those areas: the lack of interdependence. Fragmentation, therefore, involves more than mere diversity within an urban system. The diverse urban patchwork of Brazilian cities is not only based on the spatial disconnection between autonomous areas, but also on the systematic inequality of Brazilian metropolises.

    Despite the notorious challenges being faced, there are also interesting positive phenomena occurring in Brazilian urban environments that are worthwhile investigating. The incapacity of public authorities to cope with the rapid changes has also forced citizens to work together to overcome some of these challenges. Civil society in Brazilian metropolises has demonstrated its resilience. While public space in Brazilian cities has often only been created in the left-over space between, for example, infrastructure, informal settlements and gated communities, citizens have mobilised 22 Planning with self‑organised initiatives: from fragmentation to resilience themselves to improve these spaces. Brazilian metropolises have become a fertile ground for active citizens to start improving their streets, squares and neighbourhoods without waiting for public authorities to step in. Many initiatives emerged in contexts where citizens have had to adapt to unfavourable circumstances. These are known as the bottom-up, grassroots or ‘do-it-yourself’ practices of urbanism (Kee & Miazzo, 2014; Newman et al., 2008), referring to initiatives in which citizens organise themselves and take the lead to improve the public utility of these left-over unused spaces. These initiatives are not part of traditional urban planning tools; however, they are influencing the way urban planning is being practised in Brazilian fragmented metropolises. Nevertheless, while these self-organised initiatives are actively shaping public space, there is still a lot that needs to be understood about how they work.

    In the literature on resilience, ranging, for example, from physics (Haken, 1983; Heylighen, 2008) to urban planning (Eraydın & Taşan-Kok, 2013), self-organisation is mentioned as an important element for a resilient system. Accordingly, the selforganised initiatives in Brazilian metropolises can be seen as a resilient aspect of the city, particularly the capacity of citizens to act when government fails. Resilience is usually related to a specific impact or threat, and claiming that self-organised initiatives increase resilience capacity in general is imprecise without considering the specific context to which the initiatives are responding. Therefore, the research in this field considered whether some of the self-organised initiatives were acting as possible resilient responses to the spatial fragmentation of Brazilian metropolises. Based on the Resilience Thinking in Urban Planning framework (Eraydın & Taşan-Kok, 2013), the analysis focused on developing an understanding of the relationship between self-organised initiatives and fragmentation. There is much to be understood about how such self-organised initiatives operate, influence and are influenced by these fragmented and unequal urban environments. While inequality is a concept that is often examined in socioeconomic terms, unequal urban environments reflect this inequality in spatial terms. Unequal urban environments refer to urban areas where socioeconomic inequality is high. In the case of fragmented Brazilian metropolises, this inequality is verified by the stark contrast between well-off and marginalised communities, which is often symbolised by the coexistence of gated communities (condomínios) and informal settlements (favelas).

    The fragmentation component is important because conventional planning strategies have struggled to develop social connections in such areas of fragmentation and inequality. The walls that exist in Brazilian cities are not only physical but also social. It is especially difficult to create public spaces that serve and promote interaction between groups with diverse socioeconomic status. Public space is referred to here as open spaces that can be freely accessed by anyone, mainly consisting of public squares and streets. Closed public spaces such as community or commercial centres were not considered in this thesis as they follow other dynamics of interaction. The successful creation or renewal of public space not only depends on a good physical design or adequate infrastructure, but also on the capacity of the project to tear down these social ‘walls’ and connect the diverse population physically and socially. It is in this specific aspect that self-organised initiatives emerge as an instrument to enable these social connections. Public spaces in Brazilian metropolises are the physical grounds on which self-organised initiatives carry out their activities. Nevertheless, it is still not clear how they manage to operate in unequal and fragmented environments. Several questions can be posed in this regard: How do self-organised initiatives foster social connections and carry out their work? To what extent do self-organised initiatives develop social connections between extremely diverse groups that are spatially fragmented? To what extent do self-organised initiatives reduce spatial fragmentation and increase resilience by connecting diverse groups? Furthermore, how do planning professionals and institutions interact with them? Does urban planning play a role in self-organised initiatives? How can planning education also involve self-organised initiatives and have a stronger societal impact? These are the initial questions driving this research and which the thesis will address in the following chapters.

    Brazilian planning authorities have faced many criticisms over the last half century. Even Brasília, the new modernist capital, established in 1960, has been heavily criticised in recent decades (Ferreira Nunes & Bandeira, 2004; Fragomeni, Fonseca, & Brandao, 2016; Gehl & Rogers, 2013; Holston, 1993). It is common to associate Brazilian metropolises with violence, chaos and inequality. These negative images are not only imbedded in the popular mind, but are also reflected in well-known research. São Paulo has been framed as the ‘City of Walls’ (Caldeira, 2000) and Rio de Janeiro has been referred to as part of the ‘Planet of Slums’ (Davis, 2006). While both cities face challenges that go beyond urban planning, it is fair to assume that planning has been unable to cope with the changes both cities faced in the last half century. The southeast region of Brazil, for example, where the two biggest cities are located, grew from an urbanisation rate of 57% in 1960...

    Brazilian planning authorities have faced many criticisms over the last half century. Even Brasília, the new modernist capital, established in 1960, has been heavily criticised in recent decades (Ferreira Nunes & Bandeira, 2004; Fragomeni, Fonseca, & Brandao, 2016; Gehl & Rogers,...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    21-34
  • Brazilian urban porosity

    Urban areas have spatial discontinuities, such as disconnected neighbourhoods, brownfield areas and leftover places. They can be captured by the metaphor of urban porosity. This article aims to highlight potential social consequences of urban porosity by creating a “porosity index”. We argue that these areas can provide capacity for flexibility, fluidity, and absorption in major cities, but that they can also be a source of fragmentation, disconnection, and isolation between different social groups, eroding the adaptive capacity of metropolitan systems. Porosity may thus have both positive and negative influences on the resilience of urban systems. Brazil’s rapid process of urbanisation over the last 50 years shows both these sides of porosity, which create treats and threats for its urban systems. This paper develops an analytical framework within which to study how porosity manifests itself in Brazilian metropolises, which helps to identify porosity in contexts of urban growth and decline. It uses statistical data from IBGE relating to 12 Brazilian metropolises to generate the proposed porosity index. Additionally, the paper discusses the added value of the concept of urban porosity in addressing urban resilience and briefly elucidates the issues and opportunities caused by discontinuities in the urban fabric in Brazil’s metropolises.

    Urban areas have spatial discontinuities, such as disconnected neighbourhoods, brownfield areas and leftover places. They can be captured by the metaphor of urban porosity. This article aims to highlight potential social consequences of urban porosity by creating a “porosity index”. We argue that these areas can provide capacity for flexibility, fluidity, and absorption in major cities, but that they can also be a source of fragmentation, disconnection, and isolation between different social groups, eroding the adaptive capacity of metropolitan systems. Porosity may thus have both positive and negative influences on the resilience of urban systems. Brazil’s rapid process of urbanisation over the last 50 years shows both these sides of porosity, which create treats and threats for its urban systems. This paper develops an analytical framework within which to study how porosity manifests itself in Brazilian metropolises, which helps to identify porosity in contexts of urban...

    Urban areas have spatial discontinuities, such as disconnected neighbourhoods, brownfield areas and leftover places. They can be captured by the metaphor of urban porosity. This article aims to highlight potential social consequences of urban porosity by creating a “porosity index”. We...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa, Tuna Taşan-Kok, Willem Korthals Altes
    35-52
  • My House, my Fragmented City

    This study investigates the relationship between housing policy and spatial fragmentation, specifically in the case of the social housing programme in Brazil called “Minha casa, minha vida”(MCMV - Portuguese for “my house, my life”). As the title of the programme suggests, it aims to improve life quality by increasing housing quality and home ownership, but this article demonstrates that the programme can have a substantial negative impact at the wider urban scale promoting spatial fragmentation. Two case studies are analysed: the cities of Manaus and Belém. The research involved the development of maps using GIS technology crossing data related to spatial fragmentation and the MCMV programme. By creating maps that incorporate these data, it is possible to observe that the MCMV programme is reinforcing existing spatial fragmentation in Manaus and Belém. The article concludes that even though the MCMV social housing programme has had a positive impact on increasing home ownership in the low-income segment, it has also had an adverse impact by reinforcing spatial fragmentation at the city level.

    This study investigates the relationship between housing policy and spatial fragmentation, specifically in the case of the social housing programme in Brazil called “Minha casa, minha vida”(MCMV - Portuguese for “my house, my life”). As the title of the programme suggests, it aims to improve life quality by increasing housing quality and home ownership, but this article demonstrates that the programme can have a substantial negative impact at the wider urban scale promoting spatial fragmentation. Two case studies are analysed: the cities of Manaus and Belém. The research involved the development of maps using GIS technology crossing data related to spatial fragmentation and the MCMV programme. By creating maps that incorporate these data, it is possible to observe that the MCMV programme is reinforcing existing spatial fragmentation in Manaus and Belém. The article concludes that even though the MCMV social housing programme has had a positive impact on increasing home...

    This study investigates the relationship between housing policy and spatial fragmentation, specifically in the case of the social housing programme in Brazil called “Minha casa, minha vida”(MCMV - Portuguese for “my house, my life”). As the title of the programme suggests, it aims to...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    53-78
  • Spatial fragmentation and self‑organisation

    While Brazilian metropolises are spatially fragmented, at the same time they have abundant bottom-up, spontaneous, self-organised initiatives that usually emerge as a response to a weak or neglected public authorities. Both phenomena are influencing Brazilian metropolises, but we do not know how they influence each other. This paper aims to answer the question: To what extent does spatial fragmentation influence self-organised initiatives? The article is based on an analysis of data collected in São Paulo. It first develops a theoretical reflection on both concepts, fragmentation and self-organisation, followed by an outline of the methods and analysis. The results show that the spatial fragmentation pattern observed in São Paulo is defined by a strongly polarised urban structure that heavily influences the operation of self-organised initiatives. This imposes a limitation on the work area of self-organised initiatives. The study indicates that the relationship between spatial fragmentation and self-organised initiatives, however, is not straightforward and that spatial fragmentation hinders the expansion of the work self-organised initiatives.

    While Brazilian metropolises are spatially fragmented, at the same time they have abundant bottom-up, spontaneous, self-organised initiatives that usually emerge as a response to a weak or neglected public authorities. Both phenomena are influencing Brazilian metropolises, but we do not know how they influence each other. This paper aims to answer the question: To what extent does spatial fragmentation influence self-organised initiatives? The article is based on an analysis of data collected in São Paulo. It first develops a theoretical reflection on both concepts, fragmentation and self-organisation, followed by an outline of the methods and analysis. The results show that the spatial fragmentation pattern observed in São Paulo is defined by a strongly polarised urban structure that heavily influences the operation of self-organised initiatives. This imposes a limitation on the work area of self-organised initiatives. The study indicates that the relationship between spatial...

    While Brazilian metropolises are spatially fragmented, at the same time they have abundant bottom-up, spontaneous, self-organised initiatives that usually emerge as a response to a weak or neglected public authorities. Both phenomena are influencing Brazilian metropolises, but we do not know...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    79-100
  • Self-organised initiatives

    Self-organised initiatives are abundant in Brazil. Nevertheless, it is not clear how these informal, bottom-up and self-organised initiatives, supported by urban planners, are shaping the built environment. This chapter investigates whether these self-organised initiatives are able to undermine the underlying dynamics of spatial fragmentation in Brazilian metropolises by promoting social connections between groups that are extremely diverse. Since self-organised initiatives not only promote spatial connections but also social connections between different groups, the primary premise of this study is that they will have a positive impact on reducing the spatial fragmentation present in Brazilian metropolises. Therefore, the central question here is: To what extent can self-organised initiatives promote social connection in the public spaces of highly fragmented and unequal urban contexts? The analysis was based on data collected from 22 in-depth interviews with members of self-organised initiatives, experts as well as field observations during some actions of the initiatives. The interviews were conducted in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo during two months of fieldwork

    Self-organised initiatives are abundant in Brazil. Nevertheless, it is not clear how these informal, bottom-up and self-organised initiatives, supported by urban planners, are shaping the built environment. This chapter investigates whether these self-organised initiatives are able to undermine the underlying dynamics of spatial fragmentation in Brazilian metropolises by promoting social connections between groups that are extremely diverse. Since self-organised initiatives not only promote spatial connections but also social connections between different groups, the primary premise of this study is that they will have a positive impact on reducing the spatial fragmentation present in Brazilian metropolises. Therefore, the central question here is: To what extent can self-organised initiatives promote social connection in the public spaces of highly fragmented and unequal urban contexts? The analysis was based on data collected from 22 in-depth interviews with members of...

    Self-organised initiatives are abundant in Brazil. Nevertheless, it is not clear how these informal, bottom-up and self-organised initiatives, supported by urban planners, are shaping the built environment. This chapter investigates whether these self-organised initiatives are able to...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    101-120
  • Planning education with self‑organised initiatives

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are becoming a popular educational tool on different disciplines. Urban planning education is no exception and new MOOCs are being release every year. Nevertheless, it is still not clear how this new learning experience is being developed, delivered and impacting planning education. This article sheds some light on this issue using the case of the Rethink the City MOOC organised by the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of TU Delft. The course received the AESOP Excellence on Teaching award in 2017 and can serve as an example of how planning education is facing these changes. The article briefly introduces the course and develops on the challenges and results of it. Based on the course team experience on preparing and delivering the course, the article aims to contribute to the debate about online education and to support fellow academics involved on the creation of new MOOCs.

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are becoming a popular educational tool on different disciplines. Urban planning education is no exception and new MOOCs are being release every year. Nevertheless, it is still not clear how this new learning experience is being developed, delivered and impacting planning education. This article sheds some light on this issue using the case of the Rethink the City MOOC organised by the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of TU Delft. The course received the AESOP Excellence on Teaching award in 2017 and can serve as an example of how planning education is facing these changes. The article briefly introduces the course and develops on the challenges and results of it. Based on the course team experience on preparing and delivering the course, the article aims to contribute to the debate about online education and to support fellow academics involved on the creation of new MOOCs.

    Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are becoming a popular educational tool on different disciplines. Urban planning education is no exception and new MOOCs are being release every year. Nevertheless, it is still not clear how this new learning experience is being developed, delivered and...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    121-144
  • Conclusion

    The thesis aimed to develop strategies to increase resilience in Brazilian metropolises. Resilience is currently a trendy concept in urban planning, and is appealing due to its capacity to deal with uncertainty as well as complex systems comprised of people and nature (Eraydın & Taşan-Kok, 2013; Folke et al., 2004). Nevertheless, resilience is a broad concept that is at risk of becoming just another buzzword (Davoudi et al., 2012). To avoid this pitfall, the thesis attempted to contribute to one specific aspect of resilience, that of self-organisation, based on the resilience thinking in urban planning framework (Eraydın & Taşan-Kok, 2013). The capacity of a system to self-organise is indeed fundamental for resilience, but it becomes quite challenging to promote selforganisation in a spatially fragmented urban system. While the two phenomena seem incompatible, many fragmented cities in the Global South have witnessed the rise of self-organised initiatives, including Brazilian metropolises. The contradiction between self-organisation and spatial fragmentation triggered an interest in taking a closer look at the relationship between the two phenomena.

    During the thesis research, it became clear that the spatial fragmentation of Brazilian metropolises goes beyond the disconnection of physical spaces. It also depends on the degree of social disconnection imbedded in the socioeconomic inequality of the country. Connecting spaces in Brazilian metropolises does not mean that new social connections will be created between disconnected groups. Creating good-quality public space between a gated community and an informal settlement is not sufficient to connect the people from each environment. Even great quality urban design is not sufficient on its own to break down the social walls between groups with strong socioeconomic inequalities. Walls in Brazilian metropolises are not only physical but also social.

    The thesis reveals that self-organised initiatives can be very effective in fostering social connections and increasing the level of integration in such contexts of inequality. The premise of the thesis was that urban planning can play a role in promoting resilience in fragmented and unequal cities of the Global South by incorporating the work of selforganised initiatives. With this in mind, the recommendations presented here focus on the improvement of urban planning strategies to incorporate the positive elements of self-organised initiatives when working in fragmented and unequal urban contexts. The responses to the research questions move in the direction of providing tools to understand the two phenomena and their relationship with urban planning.

    The thesis aimed to develop strategies to increase resilience in Brazilian metropolises. Resilience is currently a trendy concept in urban planning, and is appealing due to its capacity to deal with uncertainty as well as complex systems comprised of people and nature (Eraydın & Taşan-Kok, 2013; Folke et al., 2004). Nevertheless, resilience is a broad concept that is at risk of becoming just another buzzword (Davoudi et al., 2012). To avoid this pitfall, the thesis attempted to contribute to one specific aspect of resilience, that of self-organisation, based on the resilience thinking in urban planning framework (Eraydın & Taşan-Kok, 2013). The capacity of a system to self-organise is indeed fundamental for resilience, but it becomes quite challenging to promote selforganisation in a spatially fragmented urban system. While the two phenomena seem incompatible, many fragmented cities in the Global South have witnessed the rise of self-organised initiatives, including...

    The thesis aimed to develop strategies to increase resilience in Brazilian metropolises. Resilience is currently a trendy concept in urban planning, and is appealing due to its capacity to deal with uncertainty as well as complex systems comprised of people and nature (Eraydın &...

    Igor Tempels Moreno Pessôa
    145-164