The crisis of the city and city management: what are the obstacles to change?

Abstract

Today’s crisis encompasses all spheres of Western societies and can be diagnosed from various perspectives (Morin, 2011; Touraine, 2000, Giddens, 2000). It also affects management, participatory planning, and sustainability models (Brown, 2009; Diamond, 2005). Brazil’s urban and city management models are not exempt from criticism, including that of being “archaic and inefficient” (Observatório Metrópolis, year III, no. 472, 2013/06/02), with respect to both models and their management and administration. Scholars from several fields of knowledge, e.g., sociology, political science, anthropology, and psychology, have approached the urban phenomenon and analyzed its current crisis as manifested through behaviors, patterns, conflicts, practices, and interactions in the urban context. Is it possible to solve this urban crisis by implementing direct public policies and introducing more specialized and transparent management models? We think so, in spite of their not addressing the problem in detail, which we will do. If we take the reciprocity law into account, public policy is a key element to solving this urban crisis; however, the analysis of the other part is missing. Beyond the traditional macro-analysis perspective commonly found in the human and social sciences, this article will handle the crisis of the city through a micro and subjective analysis of its significance to human consciousness as the origin of a planetary crisis, by bringing up a number of issues that require in-depth investigation. To adopt this perspective as a starting point is to apprehend this crisis much more broadly, i.e., as affecting our ways of life, modes of consumption, and relationships, and to view it as an opportunity for change.