Regimes of spatial ordering in Brazil: Neoliberalism, leftist populism and modernist aesthetics in slum upgrading in Recife

Abstract

This article shows how regimes of spatial ordering are produced by the entangling of neoliberalism, leftist populism and modernist visions. It focuses on Prometrópole, a slum upgrading project in Recife. In this project, the neoliberal dimension manifests in the idea that the state, private companies and citizens together are responsible for (re)constructing urban space, and that beneficiaries are autonomous citizens, taking responsibility for their new living environment. The leftist political dimension is seen in participatory procedures to involve the residents in the project. The modernist aesthetics informs the project design with the requirement to use the new space according to the standards of “modern civilization”. As our research shows, such a regime of spatial ordering clashes with the livelihoods of the residents. Furthermore, the participatory procedures fail to grant them any real influence in creating their environment. Consequently, these residents drastically reconstruct their estate, reappropriating the urban space and contesting the regime imposed upon them.