Unicamp's Center for Studies on Urbanization for Knowledge and Innovation (Ceuci) will support the participatory process for public discussion of the Complementary Law Project (PLC) that changes the rules for subdivision, use and occupation of land for the Polo region of Innovation for Sustainable Development (Pids) of Campinas. The request was made by the Secretariat of Planning and Urbanism of the City of Campinas and accepted by the coordination of the Center and the Rectory of Unicamp. Last Saturday, March 4th, the first in a series of meetings and workshops with the community took place.
Ceuci is one of the Science Centers for Development (CCD-SP) approved in the São Paulo State Science Support Foundation (Fapesp) notice for Science Centers for Development, in 2022. Its mission is to contribute to the implementation of urban areas of knowledge and innovation, in particular those to be created in fringe or urban expansion zones, using the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals as guidelines. For Ceuci's general coordinator, Gabriela Celani, following the participatory process is an opportunity to better understand the conflicts and demands related to the creation of a knowledge territory. “We do not have any type of contract with the City Hall. We are researchers on the topic and participant observers,” she highlighted. “For us, it is interesting to monitor how this new legislation is being established, including proposing actions to mitigate conflicts in future projects,” she said.
Ceuci is helping to format a methodology to guide the workshops that will take place throughout the participatory process. In addition, the Center's team prepared a hypertext* of the Draft Complementary Bill (PLC) with illustrations explaining the technical terms and a Summary of the draft (PLC). According to Celani, the idea is to help the lay public have a better understanding of the terms of the law and can participate in workshops and discussions in a better informed manner.
*Access the hypertext of the draft here.
“Unicamp’s participation in the process of public discussion of the draft of the Pids Land Subdivision, Use and Occupation Law project continues a fundamental collaboration between the University and the public authorities in the preparation of proposals for this region, which began in 2018, when the City of Campinas began studies for Polo II and Unicamp, the conception of HIDS [HUB Internacional para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável]”, explained Carolina Baracat, Secretary of Planning and Urbanism. According to her, this collaboration evolved into a partnership with Ceuci, which is supporting the participatory process, developing materials and methodologies that provide a better understanding of technical issues by the population. “We hope to establish a more effective dialogue with the community so that their aspirations are reflected in the bill in question”, stated the Secretary.
Pids Complementary Bill
The proposed change in zoning for the creation of Pids aims to promote the occupation of the 17 million square meter area located within the urban perimeter of the Barão Geraldo district. Today this area is defined as an Economic Activity Zone (ZAE). Under the new project, part of the territory would become a Centrality Zone (ZC), which would allow, in addition to economic activities, commercial and residential uses. With this, according to information from Campinas City Hall, it would be possible to foster an environment for working, living and enjoying cultural and leisure services. (Read news on the City Hall portal)
With the change in the Use and Occupation Law for the area, the expectation is to attract companies, startups and entrepreneurs, stimulate research for the generation of innovative products, generate new businesses and well-paid jobs, with a high level of specialization, and, more than that, promote orderly urban development, in harmony with natural resources, generating quality of life for people.
Pids covers the area of the National Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), the campuses of the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas) and the International HUB for Sustainable Development (HIDS ), where the Argentine Farm is located. The rest belongs to private individuals. The proposal envisages the creation of the Anhumas Environmental Park, in an environmental preservation area along the river that runs through the region. The expansion of road infrastructure is also planned to encourage public transport and active mobility, with cycle paths, cycle lanes and wide sidewalks.
In November 2022, City Hall made some presentations of the Complementary Bill proposal. Considering the impact on the Barão Geraldo region, the population of the District requested the postponement of the public hearing that would originally take place on January 24, 2023 and the installation of a process that would allow the community to participate more broadly. The request was also forwarded to the Public Ministry.
In January of this year, City Hall suspended the public hearing and began working, together with a group of residents of Barão Geraldo, on a calendar of meetings and workshops on the Bill to expand and qualify the debate with society. Last Saturday, the 4th, the first general meeting with the District community took place. The objectives of the meeting were: to choose community representatives to form a Monitoring Committee for the Participatory Process, to inform about the calendar of meetings and workshops that will make up the Process and to present the methodology that will guide discussions about the PLC.
Professor Evandro Ziggiatti, from the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urbanism (Fecfau) at Unicamp and one of the Ceuci coordinators, spoke about this at Saturday's meeting, clarifying that the methodology will combine tools already established in participatory workshops and social cartography . “Our idea is to bring visual elements using local references, which help in understanding the proposal and also build maps together with the community, based on people's experience and demands”, explained Ziggiatti.
Case study
“It is important to clarify that Ceuci is a research center dedicated to studying territories of knowledge and urban development. Understanding the demands of the population and the conditions surrounding knowledge territories is extremely important. Our interest is to observe and contribute to the Pids participatory process, as HIDS is one of our case studies. We are generating maps and 'purifying' the law to better understand its impacts. Thus, we contribute not only to the process itself, but also enable the rapprochement between research and university extension. It is the duty of the public university to break with alienating research and alienated teaching. It is in this sense that our group is involved in this process. Furthermore, we need to bring science closer to public policy”, pointed out Milena Pavan Serafim, professor of the Public Administration course at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA) at Unicamp and director of institutional relations at Ceuci. “What we need is to have participatory public policies based on science, scientific evidence, people’s demands, etc. Participatory workshops and information allow society to better participate in the process. And that’s what we need to focus on, participation and collective interest,” she adds.
HIDS Unicamp
Responsible for preparing an occupation plan for Fazenda Argentina, an area that corresponds to approximately 15% of the total area of HIDS (which has 9 million square meters), Unicamp is also creating communication channels with both the community of Barão Geraldo, as well as internally. “Since last year we have had two meetings with residents of Barão Geraldo to discuss the HIDS proposal and the ecological corridors project at Fazenda Argentina”, recalled Mariano Laplane, who coordinates HIDS Unicamp. “We are creating a space in HIDS website to answer questions from the community, always with the aim of qualifying discussions about the creation of this hub”, he said. According to him, the team at HIDS Unicamp Implementation Coordination will soon begin a survey of projects and research at Unicamp related to the 2030 Agenda. “We are at the beginning of the discussions that will result in a proposal for the occupation of the Argentine Farm and, in this process, it is essential to know the teaching and research projects and extension (already in progress or in the preparation phase) aligned with the 2030 Agenda, as well as identifying interests and demands of the Unicamp academic community in relation to the spaces to be occupied at HIDS Unicamp (Argentine Farm)”, stated Laplane.
Read more:
New study center will combine urbanism with innovation and sustainability
Article originally published on the HIDS website.
