This document summarizes and compares the international planning approaches of Seattle, WA and Porto Alegre, Brazil. For Seattle, it outlines the goals of protecting the environment, connecting people and places, maintaining a strong economy, and including socially and economically affected groups in decision making. For Porto Alegre, the goals include democratic management with public participation, improving life quality, integrating public and private actions, and protecting the environment. Both cities aim to involve the public, though Porto Alegre provides less accessible language and Seattle takes a more marketing approach. The key lesson is the importance of environmental sustainability and public participation in planning.

1. ANALYSIS OF
INTERNATIONAL
PLANNING
APPROACHES
GROUP 06:
ABEL ESCOVEDO
DANIEL PASSOS
LUCAS SILVA
ANGÉLICAVIDAL
RICARDO SHOJI
SEATTLE AND PORTO ALEGRE

2. SEATTLE
• City Council’s PLUS (Planning, Land-use and
Sustainability)
• Department of Planning & Development
• Comprehensive Plan: US Washington State
Growth Management Act;
– Vision 2040;
– Contywide Planning Policies.

3. SEATTLE
VISION:
– To protect and improve the quality of the local and
global environment;
– To maintain and enhance conditions necessary for a
healthy natural environment;
– To design, build and manage the city’s built
environment in ways that protect and strive to
restore over time natural resources and natural
systems;
– To act as a role model for individuals, house-holds,
businesses, and other institutions in
environmentally sustainable practices;
– To help all citizens to become environmental
stewards;
– To improve the overall quality of life in Seattle.

4. SEATTLE
GOALS:
– To develop strong connections between a
diverse range of people and places,
– To protect and improve the quality of the
local and global environment,
– To develop and maintain a strong economy,
– To include the most social-economical
affected in the decision making process.

5. SEATTLE
MAIN FUNCTIONS:
–Zoning Mainly to help ensure the provision of
affordable housing.
–Projects The plan has several section describing
the approach in each aspect: Land use, Housing,
Economic, Environmental, Human Development…
–Budget We couldn’t find the information.

6. SEATTLE
PARTICIPATION IN THE PROCESS:
– There’s plenty of ways to send questions and
suggestions through the website, and also
there seems to have enough information
regarding what the Comprehensive Plan states
for.

7. PORTO ALEGRE
• Secretaria de Planejamento Municipal
(Department of City Planning)
• PDDUA - Plano Diretor de Desenvolvimento
Urbano Ambiental (2010)
– Upgrade of the 1st PDDU from 1999.

8. PORTO ALEGRE
VISION:
• There isn’t any explicit vision on the master
plan file.

9. PORTO ALEGRE
• GOALS:
– Democratic management with the population
participation;
– Ensuring better life and environment quality by
diminishing the inequalities and social exclusion;
– To integrate public and private actions;
– To reinforce the public regulation regarding land
use;
– To promote an horizontal integration between the
city’s administrative councils.
– To protect, maintain and preserve the environment;
– To preserve and protect the historical buildings and
monuments;
– To recover public investments that had lead to an
increase of the urban properties.

10. PORTO ALEGRE
MAIN FUNCTIONS:
–Zoning Were made according to the
peculiarities to be stimulated in the area.
–Projects We couldn’t find the information.
–Budget It talks about the Orçamento
Participativo (Participatory Budget) but doesn’t
present details.

11. PORTO ALEGRE
PARTICIPATION IN THE PROCESS:
• Porto Alegre has a well structured website
providing the necessary information regarding the
most recent master plan, FAQ, legislation, news,
where’s the money been spent, etc.
• There is a short and simple guide of how the
population could participate in the decision-
making process through meetings in all the 8
regions of planning management.
• Each region is represented by a counsellor.

12. SEATTLE x PORTO ALEGRE
similarities
• Friendly and easy to use website;
• Concerned with integrating population;

13. SEATTLE x PORTO ALEGRE
differences
• Porto Alegre has less accessible
language in the document;
• Seattle has a more advertising
approach;

14. KEY LESSONS
1) There is a great concern for the future
of the environment;
2) The documents are quite complete and
broad;
3) To bring the population to the decision
making process appears as an essential
factor.