Hélio Gomes Filho

Plano Diretor Participativo: jogando e aprendendo a viver

This paper describes a project implemented in the municipality of Quissama, located on the northern coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro – Brazil – an area under heavy influence of the Campos Basin oil production. The paper reports the experiment carried out between 2006 and 2008, with support of the Ministry of Cities and the CNPq (National Research Council). This project aimed to develop a participatory management methodology that could ensure training to the Quissama community in order to monitor the execution of the “Master Plan of Sustainable Development of the Quissama Municipality – Rio de Janeiro”. The study discusses alternatives of community empowerment in the process of a democratic management of the territory, based on educational games. The results obtained in the first phase of the project are discussed, and suggestions are presented for future actions necessary to design a framework for managing municipal territory in the democratization process.

The threshold of sustainable withdrawal and redemption of the bicycle

This paper is a theoretical reflection on the threshold of an era of replacing fossil fuels by alternative energy sources that may diminish environmental problems, especially global warming. The need for emission reductions promoted by the automobile and the search for energy sources have encouraged bicycle transportation and creation of public policies for improving industrial conditions at the time that the point of irreversible global climate change may have already been exceeded. Key-words: Bicycle transportation. Global warming. Environmental thought. Urban mobility.