Observatório das Metrópoles

ICS-ULisboa and IGOT-ULisboa will collaborate with the Observatory of Metropolises (Brazil) on a project aimed at diagnosing the current state of Brazilian metropolises and contributing to the debate on urban development in light of national development challenges and strategies. What will Brazilian metropolises look like in the future? What proposals and projects are being put forward in response to fears and dystopian visions of tomorrow?

The project was one of the winners of the competitive call from Brazil’s National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), which this year allocated 1.5 billion Reais to research projects — triple the investment made in INCTs during the previous call in 2022. The project seeks to understand the transformations in Brazil’s urban order across various scales and dimensions, as well as the impacts of the metropolisation process. It also aims to contribute significantly to the construction, implementation, and monitoring of the National Urban Development System, with the goal of promoting the economic, social, and environmental development of metropolitan areas and ensuring the right to the city.

The Observatory of Metropolises is a National Institute of Science and Technology (INCT) based at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). It systematically and collaboratively addresses the metropolitan challenges facing national development, focusing on changes in the relationships between society, the economy, the state, and the territories shaped by Brazil’s large urban agglomerations. The project is part of a new research cycle titled “Transformations of the Urban Order and Challenges for Equitable, Just, Inclusive, Democratic, and Environmentally Sustainable Urban Development.” It aims to place the goals of metropolitan urban development at the center of the debate on the challenges, paths, and strategies for national development, recognizing the importance of metropolitan dynamics as a crucial factor in shaping the present and future of Brazil.

ICS-ULisboa and IGOT-ULisboa will support the implementation of international cooperation and exchange activities related to the project’s themes, with particular emphasis on South–South relations and the strengthening of collaboration in the field of urban development. The project will be coordinated at ICS-ULisboa by researcher Roberto Falanga and at IGOT-ULisboa by Luís Filipe Gonçalves Mendes.