Venezuela began a process of decentralization in the late 1980s as part of a major period of institutional reform designed to restore legitimacy to the discredited political system of the time. The first efforts towards this end did not complete the process of decentralizing political power, since they did not open more spaces or channels for citizen participation in public affairs. With the adoption of a new National Constitution in 1999, however, new channels for citizen participation were opened through the creation, amongst other mechanisms, of the State Councils of Public Policy Planning, the Local Councils of Public Planning and later, the Community Councils. The primary objectives of this thesis were to analyze the degree to which this decentralization process has improved local governance in Venezuela. More specifically, the investigation focused on exploring the effectiveness of the measures introduced to enhance civil society participation in public affairs. The analysis draws upon and attempts to integrate insights from a range of academic literatures including those dealing with: the debates surrounding good governance , organizational and institutional theory, decentralization and civil society participation in public affairs. Rich empirical research into the degree to which the decentralization process has promoted citizen involvement in decision making involved the exploration of a wide range of secondary materials and the conducting of interviews with key actors and participants within the programmes under investigation. Key findings include the observation that the creation and operation of the Local Councils of Public Planning and Community Councils have led to the evolution of a participatory process that has been marred by a lack of legal continuity, institutional disorganization and a lack of awareness of the existence of the mechanisms (and some suspicion regarding their intentions amongst the general population). Outcomes have also been heavily influenced by the political polarization that exists in contemporary Venezuela. The community councils in particular have been the subject of considerable debate within the country with opinion sharply divided along political lines as to whether they represent a radical new vision of decentralization or another way to further centralize power within the hands of President Hugo Chávez.

The forced movement of people from one place to another due to mining is not a new phenomenon. As the mining becomes more intensive, external consequences arise that forces the displacement of people. In this paper, I will investigate the unique case of Kiruna, Sweden where not only the people but also the whole town is being relocated. This move is being coordinated between the different stakeholders involved but mainly by the municipality and the mining company, Luossavaara- Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), which is also covering most of the cost for the relocation. In this research, I aimed at determining how urban planning from a sustainable development view was conducted from scratch and analyzed the public participation in the relocation. An elite interview, text -based documents along with a SWOT analysis were qualitative methods used in this study. The elite interviews and the development plan demonstrated that Kiruna is planning to build a compact city with mixed land use and public places that are easily accessible. Sherry Arnstein´s ladder was used to study citizen participation where it showed a tokenism participation that includes informing, placation and consultation showing that LKAB is shaping the move. In addition, the SWOT analysis showed that the strength and opportunities of the urban transformation were considerably more as opposed to the weakness and threats. In conclusion, this study can be used as an example for future towns that may be displaced and asses the different problems that may arise due to relocation.

We are facing the problems of climate change, the unfair share and over use of Earth’s resources. Global North overuses, Sweden has an ecological footprint of four planets. The challenge is to change our lifestyles. This thesis is trying out a method to diffuse ideas of sustainable development (SD) and for citizen participation. I created a future vision of a sustainable neighborhood inspired by Jane Jacobs and the concept of densification. This I presented to three homogenous focus groups: the next-door neighborhood, home owners and people in rentals. Free discussion then followed, and then a questionnaire. The findings where that the participants, fifteen of sixteen, thought the method gave them new ideas, allowed them to share their knowledge, and that it was a good method for participation. I thought that it was a ‘fun’ method. Focus groups research works more the way people normally interact, as did the literature show. I could see the learning process, that Patsy Healey describes, the creation of cultures, and also how the issue of SD was explored. It was time consuming to recruit participants. The tendency was that volunteers liked to talk, had an interest in planning, although not all in favor of SD. Many resembled me, in age and cultural background. The method could be useful to deepen dialog with citizens, especially in an early stage of planning. The vision should be ‘daring’ to spur good discussions, that may land in a compromise on SD. / Vi står inför klimatförändringar, den ojämna fördelningen och överanvändningen av jordens resurser. Nord överanvänder, Sverige har ett ekologiskt fotavtryck på fyra planeter. Utmaningen är att ändra vår livsstil. Denna uppsats prövar en metod för att sprida idéer om hållbar utveckling och för medborgardeltagande. Jag skapade en vision för ett hållbart grannskap inspirerad av Jane Jacobs och begreppet förtätning. Denna presenterade jag för tre homogena fokusgrupper: de i närmsta grannskapet, de som ägde sitt boende och de som hyrde. Sedan följde fri diskussion och sedan en enkät. Resultatet blev att deltagarna, femton av sexton, tyckte att metoden gav dem nya idéer, tillät dem att dela sina kunskaper och att det var en bra metod för deltagande. Jag tyckte att det var en ’rolig’ metod. Forskning med fokusgruppers fungerar mer som man vanligen umgås, vilket även litteraturen visade. Jag kunde se lärandeprocessen, som Patsy Healey beskriver, skapandet av kulturer och också hur begreppet hållbar utveckling undersöktes. Det var tidskrävande att rekrytera deltagare. Tendensen var att de frivilliga gillade att prata, var intresserade av planering, men inte alla positiva till hållbar utveckling. Många påminde om mig, i ålder och kulturell bakgrund. Metoden kan vara användbar till att fördjupa dialogen med medborgare, speciellt i ett tidigt stadie av planering. Visionen ska vara ’vågad’ för att sätta igång bra diskussioner och landa i en kompromiss i hållbar utveckling.

This thesis explores how the practice and profession of architecture was increasingly understood and discussed in terms of the public in the first half of the twentieth century through six case studies. In the age of universal suffrage, architects began to recognise that, in order for the profession to flourish, the built environment would have to respond to the demands of public opinion and publicity, and that design would need to appeal to the 'man in the street' if the profession was to establish its position in the new culture of democracy. 'Architecture and the Public in Interwar Britain' thus challenges the view that the mainstream of interwar British architecture was parochial and backward looking, and seeks to reintegrate the stories of many well-known but academically neglected projects and controversies into twentieth century architectural history, which remains dominated by attempts to nuance the privileged narrative of the growth and 'triumph' of Modernism and the International Style. Instead, I argue that architecture is better conceived as a broad discourse involving a number of agents of diverse positions and attitudes struggling with common critical and professional challenges. The first section of the thesis considers architecture in the Imperial Metropolis. After offering a re-reading of 66 Portland Place, the headquarters of the RIBA, through the lens of professional anxieties in the interwar years, it considers two controversial rebuilding projects: Regent Street and Waterloo Bridge. The thesis then considers architecture and publicity in the suburbs, offering close readings of factories along the new arterial roads out of London, in particular the Guinness Brewery and Gillette Factory amongst others. The final section of the thesis unpicks the idea of the civic centre in interwar Britain through the contrasting examples of Southampton Civic Centre and lastly Norwich City Hall.

Este trabalho buscou identificar em que medida a situação fiscal dos estados subnacionais e a profissionalização de sua burocracia influenciam as capacidades estatais para planejamento e elaboração Plano Plurianual (PPA). Para sua elaboração, foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, seguida do envio de questionário aos órgãos centrais de planejamento de todos os estados brasileiros. As variáveis analisadas relacionam-se às dimensões fiscal e burocracia. A regionalização de metas do PPA foi considerada para este trabalho como proxy da capacidade estatal para planejamento. Os indicadores fiscais foram coletados no site do Ministério da Fazenda, e as informações relacionadas à burocracia foram enviadas pelos estados por meio do preenchimento do questionário encaminhado. A análise das variáveis relacionadas às finanças e à burocracia não permitiu estabelecer uma relação das mesmas com a utilização da dimensão territorial no planejamento governamental. Uma hipótese para esse resultado é de que talvez os governos estaduais optem por não registrar seu planejamento regionalizado na lei, dessa forma evitando conflitos durante sua aprovação e na futura prestação de contas. Há também a possibilidade de que outras variáveis expliquem o resultado de um planejamento mais regionalizado, tais como a trajetória histórica dos estados e o arranjo federativo. / This study aimed at identifying the extent to which the fiscal situation of the subnational states and the professionalization of their bureaucracy influence the state capacities for planning and elaboration of the Pluriannual Plan. For its elaboration, a bibliographical and documentary research was carried out, followed by the sending of a questionnaire to the central planning organs of all Brazilian states. The variables analyzed are related to the fiscal and bureaucratic dimensions. The regionalization of the goals of the Pluriannual Plan was considered for this work as a proxy of the state's capacity for planning. The fiscal indicators were collected on the website of the Ministry of Finance, and the information related to the bureaucracy was sent by the states through the completion of the questionnaire sent. The analysis of the variables related to finance and bureaucracy did not make it possible to establish a relationship between them and the use of the territorial dimension in governmental planning. One hypothesis for this result is that maybe state governments refrain from recording their regionalized planning in law, thereby seeking to avoid conflicts during their approval and future accountability. There is also the possibility that other variables explain the result of a more regionalized planning, such as the historical trajectory of the states and the federative arrangement.

Este trabalho buscou identificar em que medida a situação fiscal dos estados subnacionais e a profissionalização de sua burocracia influenciam as capacidades estatais para planejamento e elaboração Plano Plurianual (PPA). Para sua elaboração, foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, seguida do envio de questionário aos órgãos centrais de planejamento de todos os estados brasileiros. As variáveis analisadas relacionam-se às dimensões fiscal e burocracia. A regionalização de metas do PPA foi considerada para este trabalho como proxy da capacidade estatal para planejamento. Os indicadores fiscais foram coletados no site do Ministério da Fazenda, e as informações relacionadas à burocracia foram enviadas pelos estados por meio do preenchimento do questionário encaminhado. A análise das variáveis relacionadas às finanças e à burocracia não permitiu estabelecer uma relação das mesmas com a utilização da dimensão territorial no planejamento governamental. Uma hipótese para esse resultado é de que talvez os governos estaduais optem por não registrar seu planejamento regionalizado na lei, dessa forma evitando conflitos durante sua aprovação e na futura prestação de contas. Há também a possibilidade de que outras variáveis expliquem o resultado de um planejamento mais regionalizado, tais como a trajetória histórica dos estados e o arranjo federativo. / This study aimed at identifying the extent to which the fiscal situation of the subnational states and the professionalization of their bureaucracy influence the state capacities for planning and elaboration of the Pluriannual Plan. For its elaboration, a bibliographical and documentary research was carried out, followed by the sending of a questionnaire to the central planning organs of all Brazilian states. The variables analyzed are related to the fiscal and bureaucratic dimensions. The regionalization of the goals of the Pluriannual Plan was considered for this work as a proxy of the state's capacity for planning. The fiscal indicators were collected on the website of the Ministry of Finance, and the information related to the bureaucracy was sent by the states through the completion of the questionnaire sent. The analysis of the variables related to finance and bureaucracy did not make it possible to establish a relationship between them and the use of the territorial dimension in governmental planning. One hypothesis for this result is that maybe state governments refrain from recording their regionalized planning in law, thereby seeking to avoid conflicts during their approval and future accountability. There is also the possibility that other variables explain the result of a more regionalized planning, such as the historical trajectory of the states and the federative arrangement.

Este trabalho buscou identificar em que medida a situação fiscal dos estados subnacionais e a profissionalização de sua burocracia influenciam as capacidades estatais para planejamento e elaboração Plano Plurianual (PPA). Para sua elaboração, foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, seguida do envio de questionário aos órgãos centrais de planejamento de todos os estados brasileiros. As variáveis analisadas relacionam-se às dimensões fiscal e burocracia. A regionalização de metas do PPA foi considerada para este trabalho como proxy da capacidade estatal para planejamento. Os indicadores fiscais foram coletados no site do Ministério da Fazenda, e as informações relacionadas à burocracia foram enviadas pelos estados por meio do preenchimento do questionário encaminhado. A análise das variáveis relacionadas às finanças e à burocracia não permitiu estabelecer uma relação das mesmas com a utilização da dimensão territorial no planejamento governamental. Uma hipótese para esse resultado é de que talvez os governos estaduais optem por não registrar seu planejamento regionalizado na lei, dessa forma evitando conflitos durante sua aprovação e na futura prestação de contas. Há também a possibilidade de que outras variáveis expliquem o resultado de um planejamento mais regionalizado, tais como a trajetória histórica dos estados e o arranjo federativo. / This study aimed at identifying the extent to which the fiscal situation of the subnational states and the professionalization of their bureaucracy influence the state capacities for planning and elaboration of the Pluriannual Plan. For its elaboration, a bibliographical and documentary research was carried out, followed by the sending of a questionnaire to the central planning organs of all Brazilian states. The variables analyzed are related to the fiscal and bureaucratic dimensions. The regionalization of the goals of the Pluriannual Plan was considered for this work as a proxy of the state's capacity for planning. The fiscal indicators were collected on the website of the Ministry of Finance, and the information related to the bureaucracy was sent by the states through the completion of the questionnaire sent. The analysis of the variables related to finance and bureaucracy did not make it possible to establish a relationship between them and the use of the territorial dimension in governmental planning. One hypothesis for this result is that maybe state governments refrain from recording their regionalized planning in law, thereby seeking to avoid conflicts during their approval and future accountability. There is also the possibility that other variables explain the result of a more regionalized planning, such as the historical trajectory of the states and the federative arrangement.

Thesis (MPhil (Sustainable Development Planning and Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Local food systems are growing in scope and impact in communities around the world in an attempt to solve many of the environmental, social, and economic costs of global food production and conventional food chains. Communities may attain greater sustainability by reconfiguring their relationship to agriculture and food but critics of local food systems doubt its ability to fundamentally change the predominant global agricultural system due in part to the limited transformative range. Furthermore, local food systems are often viewed in reference to “food miles”, a concept that is oversimplified and ignores the complexity of food supply chains. This paper is motivated by these larger debates about local food systems and addresses a local food system in Portland, Oregon. The research for this paper is based on interviews conducted in the restaurant and farming sectors in the Portland area in an effort to learn what motivates restaurants and farms to engage in local partnerships, the challenges and opportunities they face selling and buying local food, and the practices along their food supply chains. The objective of this study is to understand the degree to which restaurant farm partnerships in Portland are supporting a sustainable local food system and to help identify strategies and opportunities for more restaurants and farms to engage in local partnerships. Furthermore, this research provides pragmatic examples for other communities interested in stimulating a local food system based on direct marketing. The findings of this study suggest Portland’s restaurant farm partnerships are making a small, yet significant effort to encourage innovative environmental and social practices, address the sustainability of urban and rural Portland, and deepen the food miles debate. Further efforts need to be made by the restaurant farm partnerships in Portland to expand on restaurant’s sustainable practices, find more innovative transportation means, and improve consumer education.

A presente dissertação dedica-se à análise do setor elétrico brasileiro sob a ótica do planejamento de seu desenvolvimento. Nesse sentido, é parte de um contexto de pesquisa acadêmica que tem por objetivo a incorporação da análise e gestão pelo lado da demanda de forma integrada à análise e gestão pelo lado da oferta, atuando metodologicamente a partir das premissas do Planejamento Integrado de Recursos energéticos (PIRnaUSP), conforme elaborado pelo grupo de pesquisadores do Grupo de Energia do Departamento de Engenharia de Energia e Automação Elétricas da Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São Paulo (GEPEA EPUSP). Como recorte temático, adotou-se a análise da Dimensão Política do planejamento elétrico, buscando contribuir para o desenvolvimento das práticas analíticas, de forma que os resultados possam ser mais consistentes e condizentes em relação às premissas e aos objetivos traçados, ou seja, abarcar o planejamento em quatro dimensões identicamente consideradas: social, política, técnico-econômica e ambiental. Para tanto, o trabalho voltou-se para uma perspectiva histórica, de modo que demonstre a importância da dimensão política dentro do planejamento e a necessidade imperativa de desenvolver conceitos e caminhos de análise que permitam sua inclusão nas considerações do planejamento. Sobretudo, a perspectiva histórica representou neste caso uma proposta de abordagem e análise da dimensão política para o planejamento elétrico, uma vez que os conceitos e caminhos da História, enquanto campo acadêmico, permitem-nos abordar e apropriar-se das ideias no tempo e ao longo do tempo, sem o que não seria possível a observação objetiva da construção social dos elementos que compõem a dimensão política. Dessa forma, inicia-se a pesquisa a partir da promulgação do Código de Águas de 1934 por Getúlio Vargas, um marco institucional fundamental no desenvolvimento do setor no Brasil, chegando às reformas do modelo que se desencadearam na década de 1990 e ganhando novos rumos nas décadas subsequentes. Assim, baseando-se nas percepções que a observação crítica da narrativa histórica proporcionou, realizou-se uma reflexão pautada pela experiência prática ilustrativa representada por um estudo de caso desenvolvido no Oeste do Estado de São Paulo, na Região Administrativa de Araçatuba. / This dissertation analyses Brazilian electrical sector under the perspective of its development planning. In this sense, it is part of an academic research which incorporates analysis and management of the demand to the analysis and management of the supply, using a methodology coherent with the premises of the Energetic Resources Integrated Planning (PIRnaUSP), elaborated by the researchers of the Energy Group of the Electric Energy and Automation Engineering Department of the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (GEPEA - EPUSP). The thematic focus of this dissertation is an analysis of the political dimension of electrical planning. It aims to contribute to the development of analytical practices, in a way that makes the results more consistent towards its premises and goals. In other words, it embraces four dimensions: social, political, economical and environmental. In order to do such, this dissertation has used an historical perspective in a way that shows the importance of the political dimension in planning and the mandatory necessity of developing concepts and paths of analysis that allow its inclusion in planning considerations. Above all, the historical perspective has represented, in this work, a proposition of approach and analysis of the political dimension to electrical planning, since the concepts and paths of History, as an academic field, allow us to approach ideas in time and through time. Without that, it would not be possible to objectively observe the social construction of elements that make the political dimension. Thereby, the research has begun with the promulgation of the Waters Code in 1934 by Getulio Vargas, an institutional framework fundamental in the development of the sector in Brazil, getting to the reforms of the model that happened in the 1990\'s, gaining new courses in the following decades. Thereby, basing on the perceptions that the critical observation of historical narratives made possible, this dissertation reflected based on pratical experience, represented by the study of a case that happened on the west of the state of São Paulo, in the Araçatuba region.

A pesquisa analisou o grau de imprecisão orçamentária dos municípios brasileiros, e sugeriu fatores que estariam associados à imprecisão. A importância da análise da precisão do orçamento é reconhecida por organismos internacionais como o Banco Mundial e OCDE, que têm desenvolvido mecanismos de acompanhamento da qualidade do orçamento público. O orçamento público é o instrumento de estimação e alocação de recursos em ações que foram priorizadas pelos agentes da administração pública para concretizar sua plataforma de governo proposta na campanha. Assim, o orçamento sinaliza aos cidadãos as políticas públicas propostas na campanha, assim como as ações específicas que que serão futuramente executadas. Além disso, o orçamento fornece importantes informações sobre o nível de endividamento e a proporção de investimentos do município. A imprecisão na estimação de receitas e despesas no orçamento distorce a alocação planejada colocando em risco a execução do plano, e também reduz a capacidade do próprio governo em planejar as suas ações. A falta de incentivos para buscar a precisão, dada a baixa cobrança pelos órgãos de controle externo e pelos mecanismos de controle social, pode levar a erros e à baixa atenção ao processo orçamentário nos municípios. A literatura anterior têm concentrado esforços em estudar a transparência, a participação popular e técnicas de previsão das receitas, mas pouco tem tratado o processo de alocação de recursos. Os resultados da pesquisa mostram que (i) o controle legislativo tem alguma associação com a diminuição da imprecisão do orçamento em municípios nos quais o Prefeito não tem a maioria da Câmara; (ii) o controle externo não possui relação com a imprecisão. / The research examined the degree of budget inaccuracy of Brazilian municipalities, and suggested factors associated to vagueness. The importance of analyzing the budget accuracy is recognized by international bodies such as the World Bank and OECD, who have developed mechanisms to monitor the quality of the public budget. The public budget is the instrument of estimation and resource allocation in stocks that have been prioritized by the agents of public administration to implement their platform of government proposed in the campaign. Thus, the budget signals to citizens the public policies proposed in the campaign, as well as the specific actions that will be implemented in the future. In addition, the budget provides important information about the level of debt and the proportion of investments of the municipality. The imprecision in estimating revenues and expenses in the budget distorts the allocation planned endangering the implementation of the plan, and also reduces the government\'s ability to plan their own actions. The lack of incentives to seek accuracy, given the low charge by external control bodies and the mechanisms of social control, can lead to errors and low attention to the budgetary process in the municipalities. The previous literature has focused efforts on studying transparency, popular participation and revenue forecasting techniques, but little has handled the process of resource allocation. The survey results show that (i) the legislative control has some association with the decrease in the budget inaccuracy in municipalities where the mayor does not have the majority of the Board; (ii) external control has no relationship with the inaccuracy.