Grandes projetos urbanos: a apologia do distante e o receio do perto

Abstract

This paper discusses the implementation of Large Urban Projects (LUPs). By generating clear impacts in the urban network, by assembling large amounts of financial resources, and by involving several agents with equally distinctive interests, LUPs are submitted to constant social, economical, and political scrutiny, as well as to routine project analysis. This paper is grounded on works by several researchers who regard LUPs from varying perspectives, all of which give priority to the understanding made public by print media that was contemporary to Haussmann’s works in late nineteenth-century Paris. The present analysis is based on three main assumptions: 1) the traditional, current critique of LUPs has also been verified in the past, exposing a set of intrinsic and controversial features in these projects which can be found in different locations; 2) the LUP debate is often extremist and rejects conciliatory approaches; and 3) from the point of view of a distant observer, LUPs are generally regarded as positive, probably due to the monumentality appeal; from the point of view of a close observer, they are generally regarded as problematic. The material included articles from The New York Times which discuss Haussmann’s works on the so-called modernization of Paris. The ensuing debate and conclusion are grounded on these sources and confirm the assumptions outlined.