Public policies for active mobility in Brazil: a documental analysis of the Federal government

Abstract

The aim of study was to examine the public policies to promote active mobility (AM) within the framework of the Brazilian federal government's initiatives. An in-depth document analysis examined the public policy instruments (IPPs) to promote AM at the federal level until 2021, using the federal government's website as the main source. Descriptive statistics were used to quantify the IPPs, while the content analysis examined the textual data. Of the 23 ministries, only nine had IPPs specifically focused on AM, with the Ministry of Health being particularly weak in this regard. A total of 67 IPPs were unearthed since the federal constitution came into force in 1988. The main categories examined, namely as transport, urban planning and accessibility, had the highest number of public policies dealing with AM. In contrast, little attention was paid to the categories of education, sustainability and safety. The policy measures to promote AM are implemented through different IPPs that are not consistently coordinated and often do not involve several ministries at the same time. The introduction of an integrated and participatory governance model that includes the Ministry of Health has the potential to improve existing instruments by providing them with greater proactivity, set deadlines, explicit targets, goals, clear budget allocations and a clearly defined path of accountability.