Urban irrationalities and requalification of central areas

Abstract

This article presents a scenario of contemporary urban irrationalities through the discussion of two different phenomena: (1) the low applicability of legislations concerning the social interest of urban land, such as the Statute of the City, and, (2) the degradation and under use of central areas in countries like Brazil. Both irrationalities are recurrently criticised in the scientific literature; they remain present in the national urban scene and with an increasing participation in the entire city. Although considering the two phenomena in a single context of urban irrationalities, this article prioritises the debate on the second one, more specifically the implementation of requalification projects in central areas. Future researches may deepen the discussion on the second phenomenon, once Municipal Master Plans, as proposed by the Brazilian Cities Ministry, are approved with the idea to respect social interests. Present article brings to discussion basic aspects usually adopted to justify interventions in central areas (Large Scale Projects), its risks and its potentials. Source of information is secondary and primary. Most of the time authors make use the cities of Curitiba and São Paulo, in Brazil, as reference.