Social participation strategies in the community reading of Brazilian municipalities: Approximations of occupational therapy with urban policy

Abstract

Introduction: There is a technical and epistemic chasm about the production of information about democratic management in city planning. This implies losses in social participation, while collective occupational involvement, in the conduction of the Participative Master Plan, especially in the diagnostic stage of community reading, as provided for in the City Statute. Objective: To identify methodological approaches to community reading of Participatory Master Plans in Brazilian municipalities and bring their information closer to the area of occupational therapy. Method: A documentary, hypothetical-deductive, exploratory, and quali-quantitative research was conducted. The set of methodological strategies and professional categories were chosen as analysis variables. Results: 42 documents were surveyed, which in summary comprises five stages in conducting community understanding: Dissemination, Mobilization, Training, Diagnosis, and Agreements. At each stage, strategies are still created under traditional and hegemonic perspectives, conducted mainly by professionals from Architecture, Geography, and Engineering. As a result, interdisciplinary action is insufficient, and participation is treated as an 'act of population adherence' in the construction of urban policy. Conclusion: Brazilian municipalities find it difficult to implement urban policy, especially the stage of community reading, in which it is considered fundamental for the social participation of the population. With this, this study approaches the issues of urban planning in the area of occupational therapy, in particular by providing contributions related to the technologies of participation and the right to the city, as a human and social right involved in the daily lives of several populations.