Interinstitutional dynamics between Civil Defense and urban planning departments in the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba

Abstract

The spatial consequences of natural disasters in Brazil is not solely characterized by the catastrophic effect, but also by the cumulative processes of socio-environmental conflicts, exposing municipalities to huge vulnerability. Currently, the national public entity responsible for natural disasters is the Ministry of Regional Development through the Civil Defense and Protection Secretariat. Thus, at the local level of action, the Municipal Civil Defense Coordination, together with the departments responsible for urban planning, have an important role in risk management, making the relationship between the entities a priority in dealing with disasters, especially concerning prevention and protection. From this scenario, this paper aims to verify how the relationships of Municipal Civil Defense Coordinations (COMPDEC) are able to influence spatial planning, highlighting issues of urban planning. The investigation is classified as qualitative, exploratory and descriptive. The case study is developed through applied interviews in municipal urban planning departments and local civil defense and protection offices in ten municipalities in the metropolitan region of Curitiba. The results of the study, show the relevance of the study of Civil Defense norms and guidelines for urban planning in cities. This is observed, especially with regard to risk monitoring and the insertion of preventive and mitigating guidelines for the context of socio-environmental vulnerability. The investigation also proves the different interinstitutional integration among cities and points the need for improvements in disaster management.