The educational dimension of urban interventions and their spaces for participation

Abstract

The narrative proposed here departs from a problematization of the adjective educational attributed to cities whose municipal administrations commit to the agenda of principles set forth in the Charter of Educating Cities. I question the political nature of the educational dimensions of urban intervention projects through an analysis of the bulletin Experiencia Destacada, published by the International Association of Educating Cities (IAEC). Based on the reading of interventions identified by the keyword urban development and carried out in three Latin American cities, the text sheds light on the paradigm of public space produced through the dissemination of this slogan. The analysis points to a tendency toward the normalization of urban public life, implicit in narratives devoted to “development,” “well-being,” and “security.” In line with the conceptual framework developed by Jaume Trilla Bernet, I argue for the importance of avoiding the pacification of the use of the adjective educational in the interpretation of urban plans and intervention projects, while reaffirming the centrality of “invented spaces” of popular action as arenas of learning in, about, and from the city.