BELÉM, COP 30 AND THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: MEGA-EVENTS, GENTRIFICATION AND SOCIO-SPATIAL EXCLUSION

Abstract

This article investigates the urban transformations in Belém in the context of COP 30, analyzing how the interventions promoted under the discourse of sustainability and urban development impact the right to the city. The research is anchored in the literature on mega-events and urban restructuring (COELHO, 2020; SOARES, 2013; SOUZA, 2018), from the perspective of the commodification of space and gentrification as a strategy for real estate valuation (SMITH, 2002; SÁNCHEZ, 2001), as well as in the criticism of the financialization of the city in large urban projects (BHIMANI; DE LISIO, 2023). The study seeks to answer the following question: In what way do the urban transformations driven by the preparation of Belém for COP 30 reproduce dynamics of commodification of urban space and violate the right to the city? The methodology adopted combines documentary analysis of urban and environmental policies, institutional discourses and government regulations (BRASIL, 2023; BRAZIL, 2024), in addition to a critical review of the literature on event cities and their impacts on socio-spatial segregation (SILVA, 2023; EZZAT; EL-SAYED, 2022). The results indicate that the implemented policies prioritize real estate appreciation and the reconfiguration of central and tourist areas, while the peripheries remain on the margins of urban infrastructure and investments, reinforcing historical socio-spatial inequalities (MALHEIROS; ROCHA, 2013). This phenomenon highlights the instrumentalization of COP 30 to meet global economic and political interests to the detriment of the right to the city, understood from the critical perspective of David Harvey (2012), as the collective right to democratic participation in decision-making processes about the production of urban space. However, the event also represents an opportunity for Belém to reposition its urban development model, as long as the interventions are guided by principles of social inclusion and socio-environmental justice.