A pequena escala e a cidade: o mobiliário na ativação dos espaços livres públicos

Abstract

The contemporary urban scene has presented many social and economic imbalances that are reflected in numerous transformations, with complex territorial disputes, associated with a noticeable weakening of public spaces. This one so essential as the city principle itself. Faced with this situation, it is common for a portion of society to opt for the use and consumption of private and enclosed spaces, such as shopping centers and gated communities. However, it is observed the awakening of actions, from the most abstract to the most concrete ones, that work on the small urban scale at a local level, and which have altered public spaces called 'without urban life' of several cities, of the most diverse cultures and socioeconomic conditions, with the aim of 'activating' them in order to improve the quality of these places and, as a result, to improve the quality of life of citizens motivating proactive social engagement and the sense of belonging. This thesis is interested in these actions coming from different sectors of society, in what can be called small scale interventions, based on urban furniture. The purpose of this research is to understand how activating a small-scale intervention with furniture can be, and what are the possible effects of these actions on public spaces and, consequently, on people. This investigation takes two case studies of distinct centralities located in the city of João Pessoa: i) the sign 'I love Jampa', between Tambaú and Cabo Branco neighborhoods; ii) the set of furnishings of the Assis Chateaubriand square, in the Jardim Treze de Maio neighborhood. The selected theoretical framework provided methodological support for the investigation of three dimensions: i) public space, ii) the object (furniture), and iii) the user (s), which will be analyzed through specific tools, such as observations and field annotations, geo-referenced maps; place-centered behavioral maps; interviews through semi-structured questionnaires and the use of qualitative and quantitative parameters from the theoretical contribution adopted. The results of the study indicate that the furniture has a certain power of 'activation' of public spaces, but it was evidenced that the furniture did not reach the effect of awakening 'sense of place' or the notion of 'urban common' and that the discourse captured from some users is not always in line with the research observations.