Abstract
This paper addresses the use of the term sustainability as an environmentalized narrative in the urban development policies proposed by the municipal government of Porto Alegre, Brazil, for an industrial brownfield area known as IV District. At the base of this proposal is a wide normalization and valorization of entrepreneurship as the dominant path for urban economic growth and sustainable development. In order to identify this narrative, this research analyses the urban revitalization and economic reconversion plan proposed in the 2016 Masterplan of the IV Distrito of Porto Alegre, also known as MASTERPLAN 4D. In the last three decades, a number of plans and projects have been introduced by the local government with the aim of restructuring its former industrial district. By examining the circumstances that led to these proposals, it is possible to identify three distinct periods: Technological period (1995 to 2004); World Cup period (2006 to 2009); and Consortium period (2013 to 2016). Each of these reflects a distinct political ideology and real estate marketing position, driven by a new economic and spatial dynamic, based on public-private partnership and sustainability narratives. This research focus on the Consortium period and the 2016 land readjustment plan proposed by the municipal government, where the term sustainability is now used as a government and business marketing tool to lend credibility to any urban regeneration project.
