Arte urbana, poderes públicos e desenvolvimento territorial: uma reflexão a partir de três estudos de caso.

This article comes from different researches recently developed by its authors, which deal with urban art and its relationship with the contemporary city. Of particular relevance is the focus on the articulation between urban art and local public authorities in what we can define as policies for urban art. In the last two decades, a path has been taken that points precisely to a certain consensus regarding the role and importance of urban art, which goes through clear processes of legitimation and institutionalization. In this article we intend to discuss these issues from research carried out in different geographical contexts. The research, of qualitative and ethnographic nature, was developed in the last years, centered in emblematic urban art projects developed in the cities of Lisbon and Loures (Portugal) and Porto Alegre (Brazil). The conclusions reveal a tendency to understand urban art from a strategic and utilitarian point of view, considered as a relevant instrument for the production of the urban landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]