SOCIAL PARTICIPATION, URBAN PLANNING, AND THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH IN CAMPO GRANDE (STATE OF MATO GROSSO DO SUL)

Abstract The study presented in this article aimed to analyze social participation in a health promotion initiative carried out in the city of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. This survey was conducted in 2009 based on a qualitative approach involving document analysis, interviews (with managers and technicians), focus groups (regional directors), and content analysis with data triangulation. The views on social participation were not restricted to the experience, since the institutionalization of participation channels in the city and regional urban boards stood out, and they are seen as progress made in the democratic processes and as drivers of the greater involvement of the members of the board in urban planning decisions. However, barriers to democratic exercise were highlighted: The need for training in policy for advisers, the fragility of the population's presence in participatory instances, difficulty in coordinating with the legislative, a lack of knowledge and access to information, difficulties in acting as an adviser, and disbelief in the participatory process, which causes the evasion of leaderships. It was noticed that these collegiate spaces were strengthened and that the leaders in the neighborhoods came around common objectives, forming a growing spiral of participation driven by a network of community support.