Sidewalk in Mexico City. © Marcela Alonso Ferreira
Peer-reviewer articles. For book chapters, reports, and other publications, see CV.
The Bureaucratic Politics of Urban Land Rights: (Non)Programmatic Distribution in São Paulo’s Land Regularization Policy
The Bureaucratic Politics of Urban Land Rights: (Non)Programmatic Distribution in São Paulo’s Land Regularization Policy
Latin American Politics and Society, 2023
Latin American Politics and Society, 2023
How do bureaucrats implement public policy when faced with political intermediation? This article examines this issue in the distribution of land rights to informal settlements in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. Land regularization is a policy established over three decades, where politicians’ requests for land titles to their constituencies play a relevant role. Based on interviews and documents, this study finds that bureaucrats adopt a twofold approach to regulate distribution: they document informal settlements, enacting eligibility criteria; then, they manage and prioritize beneficiaries, accommodating qualifying political demands. In this process, they enforce eligibility rules consistently across cases, constraining political intermediation to a rational scheme. Therefore, bureaucrats reconcile nonprogrammatic politics and policy rules by separating eligibility assessment from beneficiary selection. This paper bridges urban distributive politics and street-level bureaucracy literature by revealing that policy implementers may use technical expertise to curb political influence and negotiate conflicting interests and constraints.
How do bureaucrats implement public policy when faced with political intermediation? This article examines this issue in the distribution of land rights to informal settlements in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. Land regularization is a policy established over three decades, where politicians’ requests for land titles to their constituencies play a relevant role. Based on interviews and documents, this study finds that bureaucrats adopt a twofold approach to regulate distribution: they document informal settlements, enacting eligibility criteria; then, they manage and prioritize beneficiaries, accommodating qualifying political demands. In this process, they enforce eligibility rules consistently across cases, constraining political intermediation to a rational scheme. Therefore, bureaucrats reconcile nonprogrammatic politics and policy rules by separating eligibility assessment from beneficiary selection. This paper bridges urban distributive politics and street-level bureaucracy literature by revealing that policy implementers may use technical expertise to curb political influence and negotiate conflicting interests and constraints.
Management of Socio-Environmental Disaster Risks Associated with Rainfalls: Governance Challenges in the São Paulo Metropolis
Management of Socio-Environmental Disaster Risks Associated with Rainfalls: Governance Challenges in the São Paulo Metropolis
with Leticia Ferraro Artuso, Guilherme Abdallah Mundim & Fernando Burgos
with Leticia Ferraro Artuso, Guilherme Abdallah Mundim & Fernando Burgos
Desenvolvimento & Meio Ambiente, 2022 (in Portuguese)
Desenvolvimento & Meio Ambiente, 2022 (in Portuguese)
Socio-environmental disasters associated with events such as floods, mass movements and mudslides cause significant losses for the population and impose significant challenges for public administration every year in Brazil. The local level of government is a central sphere for the coordination of multiple actors involved in disaster risk management. Especially in Brazil, where municipalities have great autonomy and attributions in the production of public policies and, at the same time, have limited capacities, understanding the governance challenges faced at the local level becomes a key factor in addressing socio-environmental disasters. The article addresses the socio-environmental disaster risk management policy in municipal governments, focusing on governance as one of the fundamental pillars. It analyzes four cases of municipalities, with different profiles in terms of population and economic development, located in the metropolis of São Paulo, which concentrates about 10% of the country's population and registers a substantial number of disaster occurrences. Based on secondary data, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews conducted with civil servants from different agencies and federal entities, the governance of the policy at the local level and its challenges are discussed considering five dimensions: intra-municipal coordination; inter-municipal articulation; inter-federative pact; relationship with non-state actors; cooperation with control agencies and legislative power. The results point to a governance centered on disaster preparedness and response in the municipalities analyzed, endowed with instruments and some coordination mechanisms between the different actors, as well as a clearer division of functions. In contrast, risk prevention and mitigation are restricted, and factors that contribute to explain the limits of governance in this context have been identified. Facing these challenges will contribute to the effectiveness of the socio-environmental disaster risk management policy, reducing the impacts that usually affect the most vulnerable population.
Socio-environmental disasters associated with events such as floods, mass movements and mudslides cause significant losses for the population and impose significant challenges for public administration every year in Brazil. The local level of government is a central sphere for the coordination of multiple actors involved in disaster risk management. Especially in Brazil, where municipalities have great autonomy and attributions in the production of public policies and, at the same time, have limited capacities, understanding the governance challenges faced at the local level becomes a key factor in addressing socio-environmental disasters. The article addresses the socio-environmental disaster risk management policy in municipal governments, focusing on governance as one of the fundamental pillars. It analyzes four cases of municipalities, with different profiles in terms of population and economic development, located in the metropolis of São Paulo, which concentrates about 10% of the country's population and registers a substantial number of disaster occurrences. Based on secondary data, document analysis, and semi-structured interviews conducted with civil servants from different agencies and federal entities, the governance of the policy at the local level and its challenges are discussed considering five dimensions: intra-municipal coordination; inter-municipal articulation; inter-federative pact; relationship with non-state actors; cooperation with control agencies and legislative power. The results point to a governance centered on disaster preparedness and response in the municipalities analyzed, endowed with instruments and some coordination mechanisms between the different actors, as well as a clearer division of functions. In contrast, risk prevention and mitigation are restricted, and factors that contribute to explain the limits of governance in this context have been identified. Facing these challenges will contribute to the effectiveness of the socio-environmental disaster risk management policy, reducing the impacts that usually affect the most vulnerable population.
Public Action to Reduce Property Vacancy: The Implementation of Social Function of Property Instruments in the City of São Paulo
Public Action to Reduce Property Vacancy: The Implementation of Social Function of Property Instruments in the City of São Paulo
with Camila Nastari Fernandes
with Camila Nastari Fernandes
CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios, 2021 (in Portuguese)
CIDADES, Comunidades e Territórios, 2021 (in Portuguese)
In the city of São Paulo, about 10% of households are either closed or vacant. A large part of them is located in areas well provided with infrastructure and services, while part of the population lives in precarious settlements and without access to basic services. In 2014, the city hall proceeded with the implementation of urban planning instruments to reduce property vacancy and, by this means, it intended to expand the offer of housing. Based on a case study developed with document research, complemented by interviews with key actors and participant observation, this article describes and analyzes the implementation of the instruments of the social function of property between the years 2014 to 2016, exploring the institutional arrangement constituted to carry out this initiative, and the quantitative results for the period from 2014 to 2019. Observing the trajectory of the urban planning sector in São Paulo, we argue that this institutional arrangement represents an expansion of the sector's scope of action and was a pillar fundamental for the application of the instruments, which achieved expressive results and consolidated itself as a relevant experience in the national context.
In the city of São Paulo, about 10% of households are either closed or vacant. A large part of them is located in areas well provided with infrastructure and services, while part of the population lives in precarious settlements and without access to basic services. In 2014, the city hall proceeded with the implementation of urban planning instruments to reduce property vacancy and, by this means, it intended to expand the offer of housing. Based on a case study developed with document research, complemented by interviews with key actors and participant observation, this article describes and analyzes the implementation of the instruments of the social function of property between the years 2014 to 2016, exploring the institutional arrangement constituted to carry out this initiative, and the quantitative results for the period from 2014 to 2019. Observing the trajectory of the urban planning sector in São Paulo, we argue that this institutional arrangement represents an expansion of the sector's scope of action and was a pillar fundamental for the application of the instruments, which achieved expressive results and consolidated itself as a relevant experience in the national context.