Local Urban Policy Councils: Assessing Decision-Making Capacity in National Metropolises

Abstract

Unlike the health, education, and social assistance policies, Local Councils related to Urban Policy remain little explored by the field. These participatory bodies play a central role in promoting the right to the city, countering Brazil’s historically unequal pattern of urbanization. In this scenario, these councils’ institutionalization and decision-making capacity still need to be investigated. This article aims to evaluate the impact of institutional design and political cycle variables on their decision-making capacity, using a longitudinal approach from 2009 to 2019 in Brazilian metropolises. By using binomial logistic regression, we analyzed records of discussions, deliberations, and representation patterns in 195 meetings involving 7,759 participants. The results unveil persistent challenges in spaces for institutionalizing deliberative democracy, especially concerning local councils for urban policy implementation, pointing toward renewed research agendas.