O rio e a cidade: análise de projetos de intervenção em fundo de vale em Curitiba (BR) e Bragança (PT)

Abstract

This dissertation deals with the relationship between rivers and cities built from urban interventions in valley bottoms, in different historical and socioeconomic contexts. The transformations that took place in contemporary cities led to the need for changes regarding the undertaking of urban works in the valley bottom areas. In this context, concepts such as Nature-Based Solutions (SBN) emerge, which seek to contribute to the construction of healthier urban environments with less impact on the environment. The research aims to analyze the Polis interventions in Green Corridor of Rio Fervença, in Bragança (Portugal), and Bolsão Audi-União urbanization, in Curitiba (Brazil), to identify the design and project strategies adopted, and if they are evolved towards the construction of cities that are more sustainable and integrated with urban rivers, taking the SBN concept as a reference. We opted for a qualitative analysis of the case studies, based on key descriptors. In the Portuguese case, the intervention achieved the enhancement of the Fervença River in the landscape, with the recovery of memory and historical heritage, promoting the attractiveness and quality of urban life with the construction of a park. SBNs were used to create a recreational and attractive space in an urban green area. The solutions for water purification and treatment were only conventional, banks and the riverbed in a stretch of the intervention suffered artificialization, however, most of its bed was kept natural, contributing to the reduction of channelling and artificialization of the river. In the Brazilian case, there was the urbanization of precarious settlements, promoting the population’s quality of life by minimizing the risks of flooding and the situation of sócio-environmental precariousness. SBN was used in macro-drainage, with the construction of open-air channels and retention basins. The protection of the APP area can also be seen as an SBN, as it allows the gradual natural regeneration of riparian vegetation and margins. Only conventional solutions were used in the sanitation infrastructure, there was the construction of dikes and the channelling of small river meanders to allow for the urbanization of the area. There was no landscaping treatment of the canals or urban areas, nor the creation of attractive recreational spaces amidst the green area. In the first, the river was reinserted into the urban landscape, rediscovered by the population. On the other, the river and its APP are “protected” from the physical and visual contact of the population. Despite the sustainability discourse and the SBN being something present in the project’s conception, at the time of deployment, these solutions are not always prioritized. In addition to the importance of the projects, population involvement is also essential for maintaining the solutions adopted over time.