Planejamento urbano e desindustrialização em São João de Meriti

Abstract

This article analyzes the limits and contradictions of contemporary urban planning in São João de Meriti, a municipality in the Baixada Fluminense within the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, in light of deindustrialization processes and the emergence of new peripheral economic arrangements. Based on the analysis of the 2021 Master Plan, the Metropolis Statute, and the Integrated Urban Development Plan of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region, the study discusses how productive restructuring and weak metropolitan governance shape local development possibilities. It argues that although recent planning instruments incorporate discourses of sustainability, polycentrism, and territorial rebalancing, the municipality remains marked by a dependent economic insertion, grounded in low-complexity services, popular commerce, and informal activities. The article concludes that the absence of economic policies articulated with urban planning and the fragility of metropolitan institutions limit São João de Meriti’s capacity to overcome its peripheral condition, reinforcing the need to integrate territorial planning, economic policy, and democratic governance.