It is questionable methodology adopted by PLAN SALVADOR 500 for plotting scenarios for Salvador, State of Bahia, Brazil, without considering the evolution scenarios of global economic crisis, economic crisis in Brazil and of the State of Bahia with its impact on the city of Salvador, as well as the impacts that climate change will bring to the city of Salvador. The final criticism that makes the PLAN SALVADOR 500 lies in the fact to list macro strategies for developing Salvador without scaling the amount of resources needed for its execution which makes the PLAN SALVADOR 500 turns into mere letter of intent.

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PLAN SALVADOR 500 IS MERE INTENT LETTER
Fernando Alcoforado*
In the document PLAN SALVADOR 500, whose horizon is 2049, the Municipality of
Salvador announces that it intends to plan the sustainable development of Salvador,
with three intertwined and complementary scales. The first, of strategic nature, has the
objective to think the city a long-term horizon, the second relates to the urban planning
of the city, the Master Plan for Urban Development - PDDU and third, called
operational planning, has the objective to identify the most urgent needs of the
population and forward immediate solutions that solve or mitigate problems in the short
term.
The analysis of above document reveals that it does not include in its correct context
sustainable development to Salvador. It is worth noting that sustainable cities are those
that have a development policy to promote economic and social development made
compatible with the natural and built environment. Sustainable Cities have as a guide
the planning and control of land use in order to prevent degradation of natural resources.
A sustainable city must have clear and comprehensive policy of sanitation, collection
and treatment of waste; water management, with collection, processing, economics and
reuse; transport systems that favor mass transit with quality and safety; actions to
preserve and expand green areas and use of clean and renewable energy; Finally,
transparent and shared government with organized civil society.
In today's time when global warming problems can lead to global catastrophe, every
city must have a plan for adaptation to climate change, especially those subject to
extreme events. Coastal cities such as Salvador, for example, should have planning
against the expected rise in sea levels, should worry about landslides on slopes, floods,
etc. resulting from the inclemency of rain. Anyway, should have flexibility and
adaptability to new climatic requirements. One would have to redesign the urban growth
of Salvador in order to integrate it with the natural environment, recover its beaches and
its rivers now quite committed to the dumping of sewage, so the city does not receive a
hostile response of the natural environment.
PLAN SALVADOR 500 presents also great inconsistency by adopting a strategic plan
that does not provide any integration strategy with the other municipalities of RMS
(Metropolitan Region of Salvador) aimed at economic, social, environmental and urban
development of Salvador. In addition, PLAN SALVADOR 500 just outlined strategies
to reinforce the strengths and eliminate existing weaknesses in the city being remiss in
identifying and addressing the threats that can reach Salvador's economy resulting from
the global economic crisis, the economic and current political crisis in Brazil and global
climate change.
It is questionable methodology adopted by PLAN SALVADOR 500 for plotting
scenarios for Salvador that is based on assumptions about the demographic trends, the
evolution of the labor market and labor productivity without considering the evolution
scenarios of global economic crisis, economic crisis in Brazil and the State of Bahia
with its impact on the city of Salvador, as well as the impacts that climate change will
bring to the city of Salvador. The final criticism that makes the PLAN SALVADOR
500 lies in the fact to list macro strategies for developing Salvador without scaling the
amount of resources needed for its execution which makes the PLAN SALVADOR 500
turns into mere letter of intent.

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Fernando Alcoforado, member of the Bahia Academy of Education, engineer and doctor of Territorial
Planning and Regional Development from the University of Barcelona, a university professor and
consultant in strategic planning, business planning, regional planning and planning of energy systems, is
the author of Globalização (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1997), De Collor a FHC- O Brasil e a Nova
(Des)ordem Mundial (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 1998), Um Projeto para o Brasil (Editora Nobel, São
Paulo, 2000), Os condicionantes do desenvolvimento do Estado da Bahia (Tese de doutorado.
Universidade de Barcelona, http://www.tesisenred.net/handle/10803/1944, 2003), Globalização e
Desenvolvimento (Editora Nobel, São Paulo, 2006), Bahia- Desenvolvimento do Século XVI ao Século XX
e Objetivos Estratégicos na Era Contemporânea (EGBA, Salvador, 2008), The Necessary Conditions of
the Economic and Social Development-The Case of the State of Bahia (VDM Verlag Dr. Muller
Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Saarbrücken, Germany, 2010), Aquecimento Global e Catástrofe
Planetária (P&A Gráfica e Editora, Salvador, 2010), Amazônia Sustentável- Para o progresso do Brasil e
combate ao aquecimento global (Viena- Editora e Gráfica, Santa Cruz do Rio Pardo, São Paulo, 2011),
Os Fatores Condicionantes do Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (Editora CRV, Curitiba, 2012) and
Energia no Mundo e no Brasil- Energia e Mudança Climática Catastrófica no Século XXI (Editora CRV,
Curitiba, 2015).