The traditional managerial approaches used in complex projects have been widely criticized for not offering support to deal with the characteristics of highly complex projects. The aim of this article is to point out the difficulties of managing a highly complex urban project, as well as to identify the barriers for introducing suitable practices for managing projects in the public sector. A case study was carried out in the Integrated City Entrance Program (PIEC) that aims to regenerate an area currently occupied by irregular settlements. This study provided an understanding the main characteristics of urban complex projects. The results indicate that this project have adopted a managerial model that is based on a mechanicist perspective, offering poor support to deal with complexity issues, such as the interdependency between actions, the multiplicity of stakeholders and a high susceptibility to external events. The study identifies a need to develop adequate managerial mechanisms for projects with such characteristics, which take into consideration the interdependency between actions and the need for teamwork.
Project management; Complex projects; Urban projects; Social projects
