The Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil and Climate Emergencies

The Institute of Architects of Brazil – IAB stands for socio-environmental justice through urban development as a key factor to guarantee the right to the city for all citizens exposed to climate events. Considering the extensive work on monitoring and equating urban and territorial policies in Brazil, the IAB encourages proposals that promote the resilience of cities due to climate emergencies.

This letter proposes to dramatically change the current system of development, which puts the physical integrity of the national territory and its cities at risk.

The succession of catastrophes caused by recurring climate events reached a new high, in the unprecedented tragedy in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in May 2024, when extremely heavy rainfall occurred, followed by floods. According to Civil Defense’s data, 2.11 million people, 447 municipalities, more than 80 indigenous communities, 11 quilombolas communities and countless rural communities were affected. This calamitous scenario foreshadows an alarming future for cities, with increasing risks to the population, to the environment and urban development, not only within Brazilian territory, but globally.

New models of territorial and urban development, together with consistent environmental policies need to incorporate climate awareness as a paradigm of the civilizing process. Likewise, urban development must adopt supportive, integrative and respectful practices towards natural resources, instead of predominantly predatory and exclusionary ones.

The development and implementation of programs of risk prevention and mitigation are crucial for cities in the context of climate emergencies. Therefore, the IAB strongly advises public debate to work out policies regarding climate emergencies in the Law of City Planning, as well as other instruments of territorial policies. The main goal of this process is to develop socio-environmental justice, reducing vulnerabilities to guarantee sustainable cities.

The complexity of the climate emergency requires an interdisciplinary approach. A partnership between civil society organisations and public sectors in the form of permanent scientific committees must be implemented to define a state policy for disasters. Additionally, Educational Campaigns must become a priority to overcome denialism in climate emergencies, as well as to provide information about the risks of environmental aggressions and non-compliance with land occupation standards.

Medium and long-term initiatives must be reconciled with emergency planning, to assist countless shortcomings derived from decades of improvisation and omission in Brazilian cities. In the affected territories, the IAB recommends strategies for immediate restoration of the lives of residents and the environment in which they live, through management of resources for urban infrastructure restructuring and social housing programs.

The Institute of Architects of Brazil expresses solidarity with the victims of the tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul, as well as with all of previous tragedies caused by climate events, and supports the work of architects and urbanists and other organizations that work for the well-being of harmed people. Hereby, the IAB expresses deep concern for the emergency state presented, and would like to offer our institutional resources, knowledge and management of our members, consolidated over a century of existence.

Fortaleza (CE), Brazil. Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil – IAB May, 2024.