Macaé master plans since 1988: the incorporation of urban planning instruments and factors of change

Abstract

This article examines the master plans adopted by Macaé in 1991, 2006 and 2018, as well as the ongoing 2026 revision process. The article asks to what extent the plans translated urban reform principles into territorially defined and enforceable instruments and how the current revision incorporates social participation. The research combines documentary analysis of the plans, subsequent urban legislation, maps and revision documents with observation of thematic working groups. Its descriptive analytical matrix brings together three perspectives: territorial definition and normative sufficiency; verification of self-executing provisions and provisions dependent on further regulation; and the integrated presence of building-right charges, urban consortium operations and special social-interest zones. The findings show that the 2006 plan established a relatively dense territorial strategy but delegated essential requirements to future legislation. The 2018 plan largely reproduced this architecture, renewed unmet deadlines and, in some respects, reduced territorial precision. The official repositories consulted contain no specific laws required to operationalize several redistributive instruments. By contrast, zoning, licensing and paid building-regularization rules were continuously produced. The 2026 revision formally maintains participatory channels, yet preliminary observations indicate a predominance of state actors and limited traceability of proposals originating in civil society