The phenomenon of urban collectives

a challenge to productivist logic?

Abstract

This paper is part of a master’s research begun in 2016 about disputes over public space through micro and small-scale interventions promoted by middle-class social groups in Rio de Janeiro in the beginning of the decade of 2010. The paper objective is to discuss and to problematize the self-management initiatives of public space promoted by urban groups, in order to contribute to the debate about them and to reflect on new models of civic participation from three case studies analysed in the research. Through the understanding of these collective actions as part of a complex and dynamic movement where it is possible to identify phases in its trajectory, we also sought to escape from dichotomous analyses aligned with a productivist logic, in order to obtain a better understanding of this, its complexity, potentialities and limitations. The research and analysis show a crisis of urban planning and urban planning, as well as a new wave of disputes over public space.