Why Pragmatist Participatory Planning Matters: A Call for Inter-American Dialogues

Latin America has many of the most vibrant cities in the World that at the same time are dealing with some of the most complex problems of urban affordability; including extreme income inequality, lack of affordable housing, clean water, living wage jobs, and educational institutions. Given that Latin American cities have originated different models to address these difficult urban affordability problems that these cities and their neighborhoods face—solutions that are democratically inclusive of differing perspectives, as well as those that are just, practically wise, and eco-socially sustainable. Pragmatist participatory planning provides reliable intellectual tools and theories in problem-focused Inter-American dialogues will develop an understanding of the special kind of entities cities are and the kinds of moral and political care they need in order to solve their urban affordability problems successfully, and one model of pragmatist political planning, participatory budgeting that originated in Porto Alegre, Brazil.