The constitution of the field of Urban Design in Brazil through the Urban Design Seminars (1984-1991)

This article explores the constitution of urban design in Brazil, by problematizing its key concepts, references, precedents, repercussions, and contributions, which are essential to understanding the discipline within the national context. This task is undertaken by focusing on the Urban Design Seminars (SEDUR), organized by professors from the University of Brasília and held in the Brazilian capital in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1991. Taking the proceedings of the seminars as its object of study (while noting that the 1988 edition did not publish the presented papers), this article seeks to understand how urban design constituted a specific field in Brazil. To this end, it presents the context in which the SEDURs took place, analyzes the papers published in the proceedings of the seminars and the trajectory of their authors, and discusses their contribution.