All that glitters is not gold: Florianópolis and competitive urbanism

Abstract

Cities all over the world have been struggling to be included in a competitive global market, and this has changed the forms of urban planning and management, making them be increasingly closer to business models and not very representative of local realities. Located in Southern Brazil, outside the great circuits of global capital, Florianópolis, the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, has been following this trend, with public and private agents betting on its environmental characteristics and on new economic arrangements to propel a new phase of urban development connected with the international models. This article demonstrates how the tourism, technology, and innovation sectors have been utilized to promote and consolidate the competitive image of the state capital, producing gaps, contradictions, and territorial imbalances.

neoliberal urbanism; strategic urban planning; Florianópolis