Isabel Maria Madaleno

Abstract

The paper examines the role of architects, urban geographers and planners inurban planning and city management. We stress that those are political acts. Therefore, thereare no longer technically correct judgements but only political decisions. Hence, the paperassesses the negative examples of urban conception, through the case study of two towns inthe Southern Hemisphere, in order to enhance the importance of technicians in the processesof devising new cities or managing preexisting urban spaces. The paper concludes that urbantechnicians should be capable of reconciling the superordinates' dream cities with the subordinatesrealities and economic constraints.

Keywords: urban planning, segregation, races, social strata

Isabel Maria Madaleno, Universidade da Beira Interior Rua Marqués D 'avila e Bolama, 6200 Covilha, Portugal