Regulation of Public Parks and Space Production: A Multiple Case Study in Brazil

This research project, part of my doctoral thesis, investigates how the regulation of public parks granted to private companies impacts space production in urban Brazil. The study focuses on three parks located in the cities of Porto Alegre and São Paulo, analyzing them in the context of the federal government's intensified push for public-private partnerships (PPPs) in recent years. The research adopts a multiple case study approach, enabling a comparison of regulatory and spatial dynamics between the parks and cities. Grounded in the theory of urban governance by Mariana Valverde (2015), particularly her discussions on jurisdiction and scale, this work seeks to understand how the concession of public spaces influences the creation and enforcement of norms and how these shape social interactions and space usage. The study also engages with the theory of space regulation (Konzen, 2021), exploring the role of concessionary companies not only as administrators but as regulatory agents. By examining how these regulatory dynamics operate in practice, the research aims to contribute to a critical understanding of urban management and its implications for public spaces.