Neighborhood plan and environmental quality: reflections and report on a didactic practice in urban planning

reflexões e relato de uma prática didática no planejamento urbano

Abstract

The city as an object of study in interdisciplinary areas represents the result of the actions of different actors in its space. Coordinated actions based on its physical and environmental structure, local, sectorial, municipal, and regional plans and projects lead its development in search of environments that provide easy access, urbanity and vitality, organization, and protection of green areas. In the teaching of Architecture and Urbanism, discussions about solutions that aim to improve or reclassify the urban space are crucial for the complete formation of the professional. And in view of the importance of developing the student's analytical skills, studies focused on didactic practices in this sense contribute to the continuous improvement of the teaching process. The objective of this paper is to reflect on a pedagogical practice developed with architecture and urbanism students in the diagnosis of urban reality and the planning of urban intervention proposals, with an emphasis on collective discussions that simulate public hearings. The methodology was anchored by two planning stages. In the first, students proposed an Integrated Mobility plan, and the second involved the elaboration of a Neighborhood Plan, which, through debates using the World Café methodology, resulted in planning proposals and strategies to promote quality of life. The results demonstrated an understanding of urban reality and the problems faced by the municipality in the elaboration and implementation of urban plans and projects. It is hoped that this article will help in teaching practices that encourage critical thinking and value the condition of belonging of students to their communities.