2011 Articles

CONLESTE Regional Planning in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Keenan, Jesse M.; De Castro Mazarro, Alejandro; Bassett, Thomas; Sanchez, Fernanda; Bienenstein, Regina; Aranha, Fernanda

This report details the work of a Spring 2011 Advanced Urban Planning Studio at Columbia University. Running between January - May 2011, students examined the challenges of regional planning for the inter-municipal Consortium of Leste Fluminense (CONLESTE) in response to Petrobras'Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperi). Comperij is a megadevelopment project whose physical size and projected economic and social impacts are unprecedented in the region and in Latin America as a whole. The studio course included collaboration with the multiple stakeholders active in the project, including national, state and municipal government actors, Petrobras and other members of the private sector as well as international organizations and academic institutions. The stdio's engagement in te project joined the work of these actors, most of whom have been involved since the announcement of Comperj in 2006. This report offers recommendations to the different stakeholders for improving collaboration in regional planning for the reshaping of space and socio-economic dynamics in the region in manners that leverage Comperj as a catalyst to bring about greater environmental sustainability, social equity, and regional prosperity.