Challenging Adult-CentrismChildren’s Participation in the Urban Planning of Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil

Resumo

Considering the need to overcome the technocratic aspects of participatory urban planning, this study examines the limits and possibilities of children’s participation as a means of challenging the hegemonic logics of the production of space from an adult-centric perspective. Drawing on the case of Jundiaí, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, and its implementation of the international La Città dei Bambini [The City of Children] program, the article problematizes the relationship between children, the city, and urban planning through a methodology combining document analysis, semi-structured interviews, and field observation. The findings suggest that children’s participation in urban planning has transformative potential in addressing the bureaucratic character derived from an adult-centric perspective by recognizing children as legitimate social actors. Furthermore, although not an explicit objective of the initiative, this practice has fostered childhood citizenship. However, as a process of social construction, the initiative faces challenges stemming both from the limitations of urban planning itself and from the persistence of adult-centric perceptions deeply rooted in contemporary Brazilian society.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Artigo científico

Ano

2026

Instituição

ANPUR

Fonte

Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais

Idioma

Inglês

Acesso

Não informado

DOI

10.22296/2317-1529.rbeur.202627en

Identificador

oai:ojs.rbeur.anpur.org.br:article/8466

Licença

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Temas

Políticas PúblicasPlanejamento Urbano

Palavras-chave

Planejamento UrbanoParticipação SocialAtoresAgentes e SujeitosPolíticas PúblicasCidadaniaJundiaíUrban PlanningSocial ParticipationActorsAgents and SubjectsPublic PoliciesCitizenship