Who owns the street? The privatization of public spaces by closed allotments

Abstract

The discussion about privatization of urban space involves the occupation of the cities by the closed allotments. It occurs that these do not have a federal regulation, which leaves the municipalities
without an orientation of how to deal with this type of enterprise and its impacts. This situation is exacerbated when the effects go beyond the municipal sphere and reach metropolitan areas. Given this scenario, this article presents a discussion on regional and municipal urban planning, especially with regard to local regulations that authorize the installation of closed projects. It is problematized who would be responsible for the streets in these places and for
other public spaces. The field of study worked is concentrated in two municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, Nova Lima and Lagoa Santa. It is a qualitative research whose methods adopted were theoretical analysis and documents, legislative survey and semi-structured interviews with residents of the analyzed cities and members of the public administration. This article presents, in a comparative way, different ways that municipalities are seeking to legitimize a mode of occupation that has already gained market, but has not yet had its reflections thought in the context of public policies and collective interest.