Curitiba and Portland: Architecture, city-making, and urban governance in the era of globalization (Brazil, Oregon)

Curitiba, Brazil, and Portland OR, USA, are cities that have achieved recognition as exemplary urban planning projects in the last three decades. This dissertation explores the dynamics of their urban governance arguing that, in general, there has been a unique synergy derived from the combination of visionary leadership, innovative urban plans, and effective citizen involvement that has produced positive results in their urban planning management and maintenance processes.; Part I provides a theoretical framework and makes empirical links between governance and the practices of urbanism in Curitiba and Portland, and identifies similarities between governance models from Latin America and the United States. Part II discusses the politics of development in Curitiba and Portland from the 1960s to the present, and shows that these cities have been similar in their adoption of effective urban plans, but different in their approach and success with citizen's involvement in their planning processes. The findings suggest that quantitatively and qualitatively, different levels of citizen involvement resulted in different outcomes---whereby too little and non-substantive participation deligitimized planning processes (in the case of Curitiba), and too much ensnared some processes (in the case of Portland). Part III investigates various recent design interventions in Curitiba and Portland, and reveals how these cities have used architecture and urban design as instruments to achieve both local livability and global prominence. It positions architecture as both a catalyst for the processing of struggles of knowledge, power, and subjectivities in the era of globalization, and a product of their contestations. The Epilogue, which summarizes the similarities and differences found between the planning processes in Curitiba and Portland, posits some challenges that these cities confront, including strengthening consensus and metropolitan government, promoting participation, and decreasing inequalities.; Finally, the findings of this dissertation suggest the use of more sensitive planning and urban design models that are grounded in the study of governance and its relationship to urban culture and the built environment. It also reinforces the need to recognize the peculiarities and potentials of each place and society in their quests to become more inclusive in the design and implementation of their urban plans.