Urban Parks Privatization and the Neoliberal Production of Space

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how urban park privatization discloses the neoliberal logic in the production of public space, revealing conflicts and contradictions between technical rationality, private interests, and social practices. The assessed phenomenon is situated within the debate on the commodification of the city, and it is introduced on two levels: the first one encompasses the general overview of concessions in Brazil, the state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the city of Porto Alegre; the second level deepens the analysis on Harmonia Park and Section 1 Guaíba River Waterfront Concession. Private management of these spaces reduces their use value and imposes commercial practices on everyday urban life, justified by claims of financial and administrative efficiency. In methodological terms, the research adopts a critical-dialectical approach based on Lefebvre's Three-Dimensional Production of Space. The research frames the privatization of urban parks as a field of dialogue, confrontation, and transformative praxis, identifying processes of elitization, commercialization, and segregation of public spaces, while also highlighting resistance movements that claim the right to the city and more democratic models of spatial production. Park concessions reflect neoliberal hegemony and indicate the urgent need for alternatives that value the collective use of public spaces and social participation.