Creativity and urban planning? Strategies of Creative Cities in Northeast Brazil
creative city; urban planning; cities of Northeast Brazil; Seville.
In the field of urban studies, there is a consensus that urban modernist thinking entered into crisis in the 1980s and gave rise to alternative ways of thinking about the city (Arantes, 2000; Souza, 2010; Villaça, 2000). In this context, the concept of the creative city emerged, and despite its longevity, it remains imprecise (Grodach, 2017; Matovic & Del Valle, 2020; Peck, 2005; Scott, 2006; O’Connor & Shaw, 2014). This concept spread around the world, including Brazil (Couto, 2023; Reis & Kageyama, 2011). Thus, the general objective of this thesis is to verify whether the concept of the creative city has been materialized (or not) in the creative cities of the Northeast of Brazil and if their urban projects aim to promote sustainable development, as indicated by UNESCO. For this purpose, a bibliographic, documentary, and field research will be conducted, focusing on urban intervention strategies planned or implemented in the creative cities of Northeast Brazil recognized by UNESCO (Salvador/BA, João Pessoa/PB, Fortaleza/CE, Recife/PE, Campina Grande/PB, and Penedo/AL). The forthcoming results include: a panorama that illustrates how the concept has been understood in the Brazilian context and its implications for urbanism; an overview of Seville's (Spain) experience; a methodology for analyzing urban projects centered on the creative city concept, that contains: an Analytics Table applied to the cities of Northeast Brazil; and an Analysis Form to categorize urban projects and plans in Recife and Fortaleza. The aim is that, with the finished study, it is possible understand how the creative cities of Northeast Brazil, recognized by UNESCO, embody the concept of the creative city.