How can we change the city to promote authentic urban development? What should urban planning and management not allow, what can't they be—and what could and should they be? In *Changing the City—A Critical Introduction to Urban Planning and Management*, the author proposes a reflection on the Brazilian urban issue. The growing complexity of urban problems requires strategic options in a country where approximately 80% of the population lives in cities and towns. A repeated failure to promote social justice, the author emphasizes, will culminate in the reproduction of current poverty in the future; hence the urgency for the various segments of society to act together to "change the city." Divided into four parts, the work initially presents the issues relevant to urban planning, reform, and management. Marcelo Lopes de Souza then explains the main trends in urban planning in Brazil and abroad, highlighting common features and controversies. The penultimate chapter analyzes urban planning and management instruments (taxes, zoning, land regularization, and public and participatory budgets). Finally, the author includes reports and analyses related to successful and unsuccessful experiences in Brazilian cities such as Porto Alegre, Angra dos Reis, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, and Curitiba. This book's target audience is undergraduate and graduate students, as well as researchers from various fields of social science—architecture/urban planning, geography and sociology, anthropology, economics, and political science.
