The Planning Habitus: Notes from São Paulo Experience

Abstract

This paper is structured in two parts. The first engages with Bourdieu’s theory of structural constructivism, focusing on key notions such as habitus, field, and the dynamics of struggles within the field, in order to examine how these constructs can illuminate planning practice in Brazil. The second part presents and evaluates four working hypotheses related to Bourdieu’s concepts of social field and habitus, as well as the dialectical relationship between structure and agency in planning. Drawing on empirical examples from Brazilian planning practice, with emphasis on São Paulo, the paper links the concepts of field and habitus to broader notions of power, domination, and class struggle. It proposes a framework for understanding planning practice as a contested field where opposing social forces strive to preserve or transform the social structure.