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Paper short abstract:

I aim to draw theory from peripheral places in Brazil, where large-scale MDB-funded interventions profoundly reshape urban geography and institutions. Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon, hosts Prosamim, IDB's longest-running project, with significant resource allocation and dramatic spatial impacts.

Paper long abstract:

This paper examines the reliance of local governments in Brazil on Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to fund high-cost urban interventions aimed at improving Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) services and climate adaptation. Whilst the federal government increasingly dilutes funding or devolves responsibilities to municipalities without adequate compensation, MDBs have become critical funding sources. However, this reliance raises questions about how local institutions balance autonomy with MDB-imposed conditionalities and the broader implications for governance and participatory planning.

While acknowledging the prominence of mainstream international institutions on policies targeting informal settlements in the Global South, I argue that under specific conditions involving structured governance, local institutions can proactively adjust proposals to meet funders’ criteria. They often seek multiple funding sources while pragmatically resisting complete adherence to external mandates. This study explores these dynamics through three case studies: Prosamim in Manaus (IDB-funded) and two initiatives in Recife (funded by the IDB and the World Bank, respectively).

This paper uses process tracing and case study analysis as methodological tools to investigate how interactions among local institutions, MDBs, and residents influence program design, implementation, and outcomes. Findings suggest that while local governments pragmatically adapt to MDB priorities, these adaptations often reinforce top-down governance, sidelining community-driven networks. However, local institutions demonstrate flexibility and agency, leveraging MDB conditionalities to align external funding with local priorities. This study aims to deepen the theory of conditionality compatibility as a standpoint for analyzing power relations, agendas, and advocacy in global planning policy, drawing theory from peripheral urban contexts in Brazil.