Urban Health, Social Participation, and Praxis

Abstract

Sustainable cities need considerations of social participation toward the real changes to the inclusions and better decisions on own driving. Social participation within Urban Health and research by community social actors worldwide has been built on the effective contribution of community participation, to social movements and organizing for health and social justice. This paper builds on this perspective to expand our global knowledge about community participation in research through a dialogue between experiences and contexts in two countries in this approach, the United States and Brazil, considering the urban effects and inclusions. We first focus on differences in political and scientific contexts, and academic perspectives and then present how, despite these differences, similarities exist in values and collaborative methodologies aimed at engaging community partners in democratizing science and knowledge construction. We present a set of case studies, from the U.S. and from Brazil, which illustrate similar multi-level processes using participatory research tools to contribute to social mobilization, community empowerment, and the transformation of inequitable societal conditions in urban centers toward sustainable cities. Despite different processes of evolution, we observed a convergence of participatory health research strategies and values that can transform science, and ambiance in our commitment to reduce health and social inequities and improve community wellbeing.