Brasilia

• Housing (urban pressure that may affect the original city plan (Plano Piloto) that warranted inscription on the World Heritage List)
• Management systems/ management plan (lack of a Master Plan)

On 30 November 2018, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report and subsequently additional information was submitted on 28 February 2019, available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/445/documents/ and reporting progress on the following issues:

• Regarding the Preservation Plan of Brasilia’s Urban Area (PPCUB), its development is underway under the responsibility of the Government of the Federal District (GDF) and will ensure compatibility with the guidelines and ordinances issued by the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN) related to the protection of Brasilia;
• Through the Technical Support Agreement, first signed in 2015, between IPHAN and the GDF, advances have been achieved in the shared management of the World Heritage property, particularly through the joint Technical Support Group has held over one hundred meetings in which several intervention projects have been discussed. Major projects evaluated in the context of the Technical Support Group include the clearing and occupation of the eastern shore of Lake Paranoa, the restructuring of the Northern Public Recreation Sector, highway and intersection improvements, an urban drainage plan, and repair of the Galeria dos Estados viaduct. This mechanism has proven its effectiveness for collaboration and cooperation between the parties, even if adjustments are required;
• The new Government of the Federal District that took office on 1 January 2019 has accepted to renew the Technical Support Agreement, and proceedings are underway;
• Following numerous meetings and debates with institutions, stakeholders, the professional community and the Technical Support Group, IPHAN issued a Technical Note and Ordinance 421/2018, which established specific changes, complementing and clarifying its previous Ordinance 166/2016 for the regulation of interventions and degrees of protection for distinct sectors within the urban ensemble of Brasilia. Both ordinances integrate the conciliation of present-day issues and demands relating to the city’s development with the protection of the attributes that convey the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, namely, the form and interaction of the urban scales, expressed in Lucio Costa’s Pilot Plan, and the outstanding architecture of Oscar Niemeyer.

The State Party’s report is very limited in scope and provides very succinct information in response to the previous Committee Decision, thereby hindering a comprehensive assessment of the state of conservation of the property.  

The confirmation that the Technical Support Agreement between IPHAN and the Government of the Federal District is operational and provides an adequate arrangement for the interaction between the two institutions is noted with satisfaction. It is, therefore, very much welcomed that the agreement is in the process of being extended with the newly-elected local administration. In the longer term, the institutionalization of the agreement in a broader Management Committee should be considered.

The State Party should be commended for its positive response to the recommendation of the Committee to engage in a broad discussion about Ordinance 166/2016 and its application. It is noted that an almost two-year process of discussion and reflection led to the promulgation of a Technical Note and Ordinance 421/2018 that clarifies and complements the previous ordinance. However, serious concerns remain regarding the understanding of the characteristics of the urban ensemble, such as the four scales (monumental, residential, social and bucolic) and their interaction and integration by means of the road system and the network of open and green spaces. A misconception of these scales and their delimitation as strictly defined areas and morphological elements leads to proposals that are considered inappropriate, such as the extension of the Southwest Housing Sector that occupies the contiguous spaces of the Monumental Axis, the treatment of the eastern shores of Lake Paranoa and infrastructural interventions. It is recommended that the Committee invite the State Party to continue the dialogue and reflection with the professional community and other stakeholders to refine the preservation concepts and criteria, as well as the interpretation and implementation of the relevant ordinances.

As to the provisions for the review and approval of interventions in the urban ensemble, as defined in Title IV of Ordinance 421/2018, it is noted that the Technical Support Group is the formal body of consultation between IPHAN and the local government.

It is noted with extreme regret that no progress has been achieved in the elaboration of the PPCUB, contrary to the announcement by the State Party in its 2016 state of conservation report that a third version of the plan would be presented to the Legislative Branch in 2017. It is recommended that the Committee urge the State Party to prioritize the preparation of this plan, which is an indispensable element in the management of the property, along with the needed inter-institutional arrangements. IPHAN should be actively involved in the preparation of the plan in order to ensure that adequate provisions are made for the preservation of the property’s OUV and for the alignment and proper interaction between the plan and the relevant IPHAN Ordinance 314/1992 and revised Ordinance 166/2016.