O Planejamento estratégico sem plano: ícones urbanos e dinâmica imobiliária em Natal

The model of strategic city planning is applied to Latin American and Brazilian cities since the 1990s. Notwithstanding, in many cities, the production of space has not followed the international model stricto sensu, but a variation of the model, here called, strategic city planning without a plan or peripheral (or yet incomplete) urban entrepreneurialism . This seeks to build city attributes in order to qualify cities for the competitive international and/or regional markets. This includes the production of iconic buildings and structures, here called urban icons. They rapidly become symbols in the contemporary city landscape, facilitating the promotions of the city for tourism and business. This also helps produce charismatic leaderships. However, what it does best is to promote real estate development. This dissertation seeks to understand the role of iconic buildings in the promotion of real estate business in Natal, especially how it helps to fuel prices in the market. The research is done by use of interviews with civil servants and private entrepreneurs related to real estate business