Brazil's urban social movements and urban transformations in perspective

Since the early 1980s, urban social movements in Brazil have played a key role in changing urban policy across the country. In the lead up Brazil’s democratization process following twenty years of dictatorship (1964–1985), these movements were key in approving a ‘citizens’ Constitution in 1988, and later, in promulgating the 2001 law known as the Statute of the City to improve conditions in Brazilian cities. While much is known about social movements in Brazil, this chapter considers Brazil’s urban social movements in perspective, showing: (1) the importance of debates on the right to the city and a rights and legal emphasis among these movements; (2) the growing challenges in Brazil’s urban reform project; and (3) recent struggles involving urban transformations which reflect ideas of insurgent planning. Through this analysis, I highlight a series of paradoxes framing Brazil’s trajectory of urban transformations.