Complejos turísticos residenciales: análisis del crecimiento del turismo residencial en el Mediterráneo español y en el Litoral Nordestino (Brasil) y su impacto socio-ambiental

Entre las diversas formas de turismo que aparecen a partir de la segunda mitad del siglo pasado, el turismo residencial surge como uno de los principales fenómenos en los escenarios brasileño e internacional. El crecimiento de esta actividad ha sido un factor importante para la generación de empleo e ingresos en los municipios del litoral sudeste de Brasil y de la costa española mediterránea. Pero recientemente, se observa un crecimiento acelerado de esta modalidad de turismo en la costa del Nordeste de Brasil. Este proceso ha generado beneficios económicos para la región al igual que impactos socioambientales. El primer objetivo de este artículo fue realizar un enfoque exploratorio, identificando el escenario de la oferta y la demanda de la construcción de complejos turísticos residenciales en el Nordeste brasileño por medio del relevamiento de sites y entrevistas a las inmobiliarias, constructoras, incorporadoras, operadoras hoteleras y organismos públicos. Los resultados de la investigación muestran el gran interés del capital internacional en construir mega proyectos de segunda residencia en el nordeste, adaptados a la demanda internacional, principalmente europea. El segundo objetivo fue comparar y analizar la evolución, las etapas y las características del turismo residencial en la costa española mediterránea, como ejemplo de modelo consolidado, con la actividad en el Nordeste brasileño, como modelo en expansión. Se verificó que ambas regiones turísticas fueron afectadas por la crisis económica y por deficiencias estructurales de sus respectivos modelos, las cuales potencian impactos económicos y socioambientales.

Using causal maps to support ex-post assessment of social impacts of dams

This paper presents the results of an ex-post assessment of two important dams in Brazil. The study follows the principles of Social Impact Management, which offer a suitable framework for analyzing the complex social transformations triggered by hydroelectric dams. In the implementation of this approach, participative causal maps were used to identify the ex-post social impacts of the Porto Primavera and Rosana dams on the community of Porto Rico, located along the High Paraná River. We found that in the operation of dams there are intermediate causes of a political nature, stemming from decisions based on values and interests not determined by neutral, exclusively technical reasons; and this insight opens up an area of action for managing the negative impacts of dams.

Simultaneous environmental and economic process synthesis of Isobutane Alkylation

This multidisciplinary study concerns the optimal design of processes with a view to both maximizing profit and minimizing environmental impacts. This can be achieved by a combination of traditional chemical process design methods, measurements of environmental impacts and advanced mathematical optimization techniques. More to the point, this paper presents a hybrid simulation-multiobjective optimization approach that at once optimizes the production cost and minimizes the associated environmental impacts of isobutane alkylation. This approach has also made it possible to obtain the flowsheet configurations and process variables that are needed to manufacture isooctane in a way that satisfies the above-stated double aim. The problem is formulated as a Generalized Disjunctive Programming problem and solved using state-of-the-art logic-based algorithms. It is shown, starting from existing alternatives for the process, that it is possible to systematically generate a superstructure that includes alternatives not previously considered. The optimal solution, in the form a Pareto curve, includes different structural alternatives from which the most suitable design can be selected. To evaluate the environmental impact, Life Cycle Assessment based on two different indicators is employed: Ecoindicator 99 and Global Warming Potential.

Social Services in Times of Economic and Social Crisis: The case of Spain

The financial and economic crisis which originated in 2008 has had a severe impact on the population of the Southern European countries. The economic policies of austerity and public deficit control, as well as the neo-liberal and conservative social policies are redefining the public social protection systems, in particular the Social Services. In order to get to understand the current situation, we shall explain how the Social Services were developed in Spain and analyse the causes and consequences of the economic crisis. The working hypothesis is that the greater the increase on the population’s needs, the more developed the Social Services should be. We carried out a descriptive analysis of the situation as far as the social impacts of the crisis per region are concerned. We tested the hypothesis through a parametric model of analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) triangulating with the non-parametric Kruscal-Wallis test. The working hypothesis failed. The regions with better developed Social Services show a lower level of poverty and social exclusion. The challenges that the public Social Services system faces in times of crisis is three-fold: 1) re-modelling of local administration and transferring of the municipal Social Services responsibilities to the regional administration; 2) an increase of the population at risk of poverty and social exclusion 3) impact on social policies.