Framework para elaboração, gestão e avaliação de planos diretores de florestas urbanas: uma metodologia sob a ótica de cidades inteligentes e sustentáveis

Abstract

Accelerated urbanization poses complex challenges to urban sustainability, requiring integrated approaches that combine spatial planning, green infrastructure, and technological innovation. In this context, urban forests — here understood as systems that encompass urban afforestation, parks, squares, and green spaces in general — play a strategic role in promoting quality of life, mitigating environmental impacts, and building more resilient cities. At the same time, advances in digital technologies offer new possibilities for improving urban environmental management through data, monitoring, and digital governance, potentially redefining the paradigm of Smart and Sustainable Cities (SSC). This thesis aims to propose a framework for developing, managing, and assessing the feasibility of Urban Forestry Master Plans (UFMPs), in the Brazilian contexto, integrating technical, institutional, and technological criteria. The research is justified by the lack of consolidated methodological instruments to guide the management and assessment of urban forests, especially in countries in the Global South, where inequalities in access to technologies and weaknesses in environmental governance persist. The methodology adopted combined a systematic literature review (Chapter 2) with documentary analyses at two scales: national (Chapter 3) and state (Chapter 4). Chapter 2 mapped the role of digital technologies, such as GIS, LiDAR, IoT, and AI, applied to urban forests, revealing a promising field, albeit concentrated in countries in the Global North. The analyses conducted in Chapters 3 and 4 on the UFMPs of Brazilian capitals and municipalities in Paraná revealed disparities in the technical quality of the plans, a lack of indicators, and structural limitations such as scarcity of resources, institutional discontinuity, and weak intersectoral coordination — a recurring obstacle even in different urban contexts. Among the most relevant findings, it is worth noting that 48,15% of Brazilian capitals and only 5,76% of municipalities in Paraná have formalized UFMPs. Most plans lack clear objectives, evaluation criteria, and a structure for periodic review. The adoption of digital technologies is incipient, limited to a few initiatives. These results reinforce the urgent need for mechanisms that systematize and guide the development of more feasible and efficient plans. Based on the results obtained, Chapter 5 presents the 4Cs Framework, structured into four progressive levels — Conhecer (Know), Conceber (Design), Concretizar (Implement), and Consolidar (Consolidate) — with evaluation criteria and operational guidelines that guide everything from urban forest diagnosis to monitoring and adaptive plan management. The Framework was empirically validated through its application in the UFMPs of Paraná. The validation confirmed the main barriers to the effectiveness of the plans: financial fragility (Level 3), measured by the lack of detailed cost and funding sources; the low adoption of advanced technologies for diagnosis (Level 1); the lack of use of digital tools to support implementation and monitoring (Level 3); and the lack of digital platforms for public engagement and transparency (Levels 1 and 4). the absence of evaluation teams distinct from the implementing teams (Level 4), and the lack of modern equity indicators, such as the 3–30–300 rule (Level 1). Based on the validation, it was concluded that the Framework is a robust and scalable tool that fills a crucial methodological gap in the Global South, as it provides a roadmap for managers to improve urban forest planning. Furthermore, the Framework incorporates, in a structured manner, the technological, social, and environmental dimensions and integrates management with the SSC paradigm, strengthening governance and the feasibility of public policies in Brazil.