TRANSIÇÃO PARA CIDADE-ESPONJA: DESAFIOS E OPORTUNIDADES PARA A CIDADE DE JOÃO PESSOA-PB

Abstract

Due to the accelerated and unplanned urbanization process, which lead to a high rate of soil sealing, brazilian cities are going through serious socio-environmental problems related to massive and frequent rainfall events. Therefore, it is essential to carry out urban interventions that are capable of mitigating or solving these problems. This work aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities in the transition of the current configuration of the city of João Pessoa to a sponge city, which is a city model that uses innovative architectural and construction resources to prevent floods, in addition to generating other benefits. For such, a bibliographic survey was carried out to explore this concept of city, in order to present brazilian and foreign examples and analyze the current situation of João Pessoa. The cities used as example were Wuhan, Berlin, Frankfurt, New York, Copenhagen, Porto Alegre and São Paulo. All of them suffered with urban drainage problems and adopted public policies to encourage the implementation of green roofs, linear parks, wetlands, permeable pavements, detention and retention reservoirs, among others. For João Pessoa, the impasses in public management were the main challenges identified, as they are dependent of the decision-making power of public agencies. The main opportunities identified were the existence of appropriate places for the implementation of measures used in sponge cities, professional initiatives that suggest the implementation of more sustainable drainage strategies and local studies aimed at sustainability and rainwater reuse. Therefore, the city hall of João Pessoa needs to act more assertively in relation to the urban water management. The implementation of an appropriate, sustainable and efficient Urban Drainage Master Plan, considering the aspects proposed by the sponge cities, would be a good start.