Integrated planning, environment, and management: the French and Brazilian experiences of integration through the Blue-Green Network

Abstract

Objective: To discuss the interdependence of mechanisms, instruments and management instances in territorial planning and inter-municipal multi-sectorial integrated planning, based on the environment and in voluntary collaborative arrangements. Management of the integration: from local to regional, and to national sphere. Availability of multi-scalar, and cross-sectorial Brazilian collaborative arrangements. Methodology and approach: Concepts - link between planning a complex territory and socioeconomic factors based on the green elements (vegetated masses and ecological corridors) and blue (waters) – Green and Blue Network (GBN). French practices; coordination and management instruments; collaborative territorial arrangements at different scales. Cases: France and the Inter-municipal Consortium of the Greater ABC and Coastal Management. North Coast plan (state of São Paulo). Emphasis and hierarchy of treatment of biophysical systems: economic, social, historical and cultural factors, in the cases. Originality and relevance: Debate on integrated planning at an inter-municipal, flexible and multi-scale level; relevance of voluntary collaborative territorial arrangements (Inter-municipal Consortium), or linked to Coastal Management, with preservation of the environment and ecological connectivity. Green and Blue Network (GBN) like a basis for planning. Scalar connections, suitable for land use planning; and like a biophysical basis and guarantee of territorial consistency and coherence. Main Results: Positive example of territorial arrangements; preservation of the environment and ecological connectivity; opportunity of Green and Blue Network (GBN), for the multi-sectorial planning of the territory. Conclusions: The French model and the Brazilian experiences represent flexible models of institutional and territorial nature for metropolitan governance, in the midst of a wide range of possibilities.