All rights reservedGaspar, Floriana de Fátimade Araújo, Daila Coutinho2024-09-172024-09-172016978-85-7785-551-1https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/1987Proceedings of the IV World Planning Schools Congress, July 3-8th, 2016 : Global crisis, planning and challenges to spatial justice in the north and in the southThe twentieth century was marked by an intense process of dispute over the democracy question. This dispute, waged by the end of each of the World Wars, revolved around the desirability of democracy, which resulted, however, in the hegemonic idea of democracy restricted only to the participation in the election processes (Souza Santos & Avritzer, 2002, p.39). This centralizing sense of democracy was not immune to the criticism that sought to approach to this idea a broader notion of democracy, to which are associated the ideas of social mobilization (Friedmann, 2006), public space as sphere of formation and expression of citizenship (Habermas, 1997) and the possibilities of creating autonomous individuals for the establishment of a democratic society (Castoriadis, 1982). With the re-democratization of Brazil in the 1980s, the intense struggle of social movements resulted in the creation of a varied legal and institutional framework, aiming to bring society closer to planning and management of urban policies. However, the legal advances within the City Statute, Law 10.257/ 2001, legal benchmark that regulates the urban policy chapter of the Federal Constitution and establishes the "democratic management through direct participation" as a general guideline of urban policy, have not resulted in structural changes of urban space occupation. This observation leads one to question the effectiveness of the instrument of social participation as a counterpoint of the political game, for those who are historically excluded from the right to the city. In practice, what is observed is that these processes take place in a social context of strong heteronomy, where access to reliable information is fundamental for equity of access and participation in the decision-making processes (Souza, 2006, p.174).EnglishopenAccessconferenceObject1302-1310