When public participation meets resettlement : the Vila Chocolatão experience in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Progress in developing economies such as Brazil is often marked by a parallel rise in urban poverty and informal settlements. Development-induced resettlements are increasing, and often result in displaced persons suffering greater impoverishment and disadvantage. For communities across the globe, devising approaches to dealing with slums is one of the biggest challenges to emerge from the unprecedented and rapid urbanization in the twenty-first century. Current international 'best practice' approaches recommend resettlement of slum communities be avoided where feasible. This paper explores the paradoxical nature of a resettlement project in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the relocation of the Vila Chocolatão community, involving the intersection between urban resettlement and public participatory processes. In May 2011, approximately 800 residents of an inner city slum were re-housed in the newly constructed Residencial Nova Chocolatão. This occurred after a decade-long preparatory process, initiated through Porto Alegre's renown Orçamento Participativo or OP (participatory budget) system, supported by a long standing cross-sectoral network group and resulting in a housing project that incorporated employment and early childhood services and education. This research examines how the public participatory processes evolved in the lead-up and during resettlement, and also explores the role of collaboration and partnership in community transformation.