A sociedade e a natureza na paisagem urbana: análise de indicadores para avaliar a qualidade ambiental

Pós-graduação em Geografia - FCT

Território, política e infraestruturas: a influência do governo federal na política urbana dos municípios brasileiros

The evolution of Brazilian federalism (result of the influence and power of oligarchic elites, the different constitutional texts made and policies designed to collect taxes) shows one of the forms of how the Brazilian government uses the territory to effect the exercise of power. In the country, this use takes place by the imposition of rules that regulate and create tension among the entities, and mechanisms of distribution and redistribution of resources among federal agencies acquire great importance because they allow a bigger or lesser autonomy in public administration. The text aims to analyze the voluntary transfers of resources from the Federal Government to the municipalities. These Covenants act as a mechanism that can be configured in promoter of new selectivity and hierarchies between places. With the aim to understand the materialization of public resources in the territory, our analysis intends to identify how the Brazilian government makes use of constitutional mechanisms to enlarge and improve the urban infrastructure in the municipal scale.

Cartografia da vulnerabilidade socioambiental: convergências e divergências a partir de algumas experiências em Portugal e no Brasil

In this study we intent to contextualize the topic environmental vulnerability on the world stage, highlighting similarities and differences in their conceptions in Portugal and Brazil. In the literature about the vulnerability is already established the contribution of Geotechnologies, especially the Systems of Remote Sensing and Orbital Imaging as well as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and its potential for modelling physical and socioeconomic aspects for the prevention, mitigation and facing risk manifestations, whether natural, technological or mixed. This paper aims to discuss the methodological framework of vulnerability studies and the results of application in the modelling of socioeconomic and environmental data in the context of the Region Centre of Portugal and the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The methodology for analysing the vulnerability of these regions was based on quantitative studies of the capacity of resistance and resilience of populations and territories. The results were consistent with the socio-environmental realities of the study areas and reflect the complexity of facing and recovery of risk situations in case of territories and populations under low economic conditions and urban infrastructure, whether in Brazil and Portugal.

Previsão espacial da densidade de carga nos sistemas de distribuição de energia elétrica considerando a geometria fractal da zona urbana

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

As Praças Centrais de Presidente Prudente-SP: avaliação do caráter como subsídio para intervenções projetuais

During the process of development and urban sprawl in the city of Presidente Prudente (SP), some factors as the emergence of new centralities, the change in lifestyles and the expansion of equipments and urban infrastructure contributed to the dismantling and little appropriation of the central open space system. In this sense, the work is about the loss of continuity between the central squares of the city - Monsenhor Sarrion Square, July 9 Square, Bandeira Square and Nossa Senhora Aparecida Square - using different methodologies for character evaluation of each square, identifying the inviting and unattractive aspects of their spaces. The relations between these squares and its surroundings are characterized by analyzing interesting visual played on sketches, to complement character evaluation. Among these studies, it is also analyzed two spatial structures related to the squares – Calçadão and Quintino Bocaiuva Street - which have important architectural referring to the city's history and contribute to the central open space system configuration. General considerations obtained through diagnosis provided subsidies for the projectual proposed intervention, which aims to provide appreciation of the character of these public spaces and their articulation, promoting their use and constituting, thus, an important urban-environment set

Urbanização, turismo e seus impactos nos recursos naturais no município de Ilhabela - SP

The urbanization process in the Brazilian cities is directly linked to its main economic activities, and causes several impacts on the natural resources. It can be seen at the city of Ilhabela, an archipelago located at the north coast of the state of São Paulo, that still has a great area of preserved Atlantic Rainforest, and where today the tourism is the main economic activity. With this in sight, this paper aimed to make a prospect of the current situation of the city, looking at the main aspects of its economic and urban development and the environmental impacts related to them. Among the aspects studied, are the irregular occupations at preservation areas on the island: the pressure on the sea ecosystems by the fishing and the boat circulation, and at the beaches by the tourists flow. Were also observed the characteristics of the city’s urban infrastructure, such as the water supply, sewer and road networks and the waste collecting. Finally, it was analyzed the way that the government acts over the preservation of the island’s natural resources, by the Municipality and the Ilhabela State Park, so that the acting of these two agents could be compared

Avaliação da qualidade de vida através do indicativo de saúde no bairro jardim Cherveson em Rio Claro-SP

This research reffers to a study of case about Jardim Cherveson district, in which was mensured the quality of life of the resident population. The term quality of life has a dificult definition, because include a lot of variables objectives and subjectives, however, we can say that good quality of life depends on health condition of the individual. To assess the quality of life of the residents on district were verified the diseases of higher occurrence, identifing if the same were caused by the condition of local urban infrastructure and still the treatment of the Unidade Básica de Saúde in the study area

Infraestrutura Urbana e Desigualdade Socioespacial na Cidade de Salvador - Bahia

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

Infraestrutura Urbana e Desigualdade Socioespacial na Cidade de Salvador - Bahia

Pós-graduação em Geografia - IGCE

Empirical analysis of human capital development and economic growth in Europe

Recent discussion of the knowledge-based economy draws increasingly attention to the role that the creation and management of knowledge plays in economic development. Development of human capital, the principal mechanism for knowledge creation and management, becomes a central issue for policy-makers and practitioners at the regional, as well as national, level. Facing competition both within and across nations, regional policy-makers view human capital development as a key to strengthening the positions of their economies in the global market. Against this background, the aim of this study is to go some way towards answering the question of whether, and how, investment in education and vocational training at regional level provides these territorial units with comparative advantages. The study reviews literature in economics and economic geography on economic growth (Chapter 2). In growth model literature, human capital has gained increased recognition as a key production factor along with physical capital and labour. Although leaving technical progress as an exogenous factor, neoclassical Solow-Swan models have improved their estimates through the inclusion of human capital. In contrast, endogenous growth models place investment in research at centre stage in accounting for technical progress. As a result, they often focus upon research workers, who embody high-order human capital, as a key variable in their framework. An issue of discussion is how human capital facilitates economic growth: is it the level of its stock or its accumulation that influences the rate of growth? In addition, these economic models are criticised in economic geography literature for their failure to consider spatial aspects of economic development, and particularly for their lack of attention to tacit knowledge and urban environments that facilitate the exchange of such knowledge. Our empirical analysis of European regions (Chapter 3) shows that investment by individuals in human capital formation has distinct patterns. Those regions with a higher level of investment in tertiary education tend to have a larger concentration of information and communication technology (ICT) sectors (including provision of ICT services and manufacture of ICT devices and equipment) and research functions. Not surprisingly, regions with major metropolitan areas where higher education institutions are located show a high enrolment rate for tertiary education, suggesting a possible link to the demand from high-order corporate functions located there. Furthermore, the rate of human capital development (at the level of vocational type of upper secondary education) appears to have significant association with the level of entrepreneurship in emerging industries such as ICT-related services and ICT manufacturing, whereas such association is not found with traditional manufacturing industries. In general, a high level of investment by individuals in tertiary education is found in those regions that accommodate high-tech industries and high-order corporate functions such as research and development (R&D). These functions are supported through the urban infrastructure and public science base, facilitating exchange of tacit knowledge. They also enjoy a low unemployment rate. However, the existing stock of human and physical capital in those regions with a high level of urban infrastructure does not lead to a high rate of economic growth. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that the rate of economic growth is determined by the accumulation of human and physical capital, not by level of their existing stocks. We found no significant effects of scale that would favour those regions with a larger stock of human capital. The primary policy implication of our study is that, in order to facilitate economic growth, education and training need to supply human capital at a faster pace than simply replenishing it as it disappears from the labour market. Given the significant impact of high-order human capital (such as business R&D staff in our case study) as well as the increasingly fast pace of technological change that makes human capital obsolete, a concerted effort needs to be made to facilitate its continuous development.

Projeto de mobilidade urbana: estudo sobre processos de integração com habitação de interesse social nas obras do PAC da COPA 2014 em Natal/RN

The public political investments of urban mobility financed by PAC of Cup 2014 have developed discussions and questions by the civil society in Brazil expecting positive results to the urban infrastructure referring to the possible human rights violation and, specially, rights of habitation related to the removing/expropriation noticed. Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte, is into this context, due to the urban mobility project linking North Zone of the city to the Arena das Dunas stadium, financed by the PAC of Cup 2014, named West Structural Corridor, that crosses a field of social interest and proposes almost 400 expropriations. This research analyzes how strategies and mechanisms of integration were presented between the mobility project of West Structural Corridor and the Social Interest Habitation affected by this project. We have as hypothesis those projects financed by PAC of Cup 2014/Urban Mobility to Natal/RN present many problems related to the integration of social interest to the housing project, however the National Politics of Urban Development has planned this integration. As a result we detach 3 strategies in the elaboration process about the integration of those politics: (i) integration between municipal secretaries involved in this project; (ii) urban integration of the city; and (iii) integration of public rules or public politics integrated. For each strategy were presented the main mechanisms used to establish the integration of the project. Those mechanisms, however, in this process of establishment/implementation of the empirical research, presented many contradictions and conflicts that compose problems to the integration between the mobility project and the housing area affected.

Crescimento urbano e seus impactos no sistema de drenagem de uma bacia em Natal/RN

The uncontrolled growth of most Brazilian cities is not accompanied by the development of urban infrastructure. With increasing soil sealing, runoff and decreased infiltration volume, impacts on water resources and on population of the areas affected by urban growth are inevitable. This study aims to evaluate the use and occupation of a watershed and analyze the drainage system in order to control the impact using tools to integrate urban development with the drainage of rainwater in an important watershed in the Natal City, Rio Grande do Norte State. The study involved the characterization of the basin XII.4 on the land use and occupation, for the years 2005 and 2014. With the application of SWMM model was possible to analyze the impacts caused by the urbanization process in the existing drainage system, showing the two years analyzed have their areas very close to percentage saturation of impervious areas. Although the region is still predominantly single family residential, suffers increasing verticalization of mainly commercial buildings. The drainage system is inefficient for the area's needs by the year 2005. The drainage system was also tested for four variations of land use by developing scenarios. Scenario 1 is related to the year 2014, considered current. Scenario 2 was adopted the maximum rate of 80% for land use, allowed for the Natal City. Scenario 3 gives the critical condition of land use, with the area 100% impervious. Scenario 4 is applied to the existence of LID (Low Impact Device). The scenarios analysis showed that all indicate deficiency at some point of the drainage system as a result of the high degree of occupation of the area that generate higher flows than the initial drainage system capacity. With the study it became clear that the adoption of non-structural tools are effective in reducing flooding and improving the drainage system capacity.

Crescimento urbano e seus impactos no sistema de drenagem de uma bacia em Natal/RN

The uncontrolled growth of most Brazilian cities is not accompanied by the development of urban infrastructure. With increasing soil sealing, runoff and decreased infiltration volume, impacts on water resources and on population of the areas affected by urban growth are inevitable. This study aims to evaluate the use and occupation of a watershed and analyze the drainage system in order to control the impact using tools to integrate urban development with the drainage of rainwater in an important watershed in the Natal City, Rio Grande do Norte State. The study involved the characterization of the basin XII.4 on the land use and occupation, for the years 2005 and 2014. With the application of SWMM model was possible to analyze the impacts caused by the urbanization process in the existing drainage system, showing the two years analyzed have their areas very close to percentage saturation of impervious areas. Although the region is still predominantly single family residential, suffers increasing verticalization of mainly commercial buildings. The drainage system is inefficient for the area's needs by the year 2005. The drainage system was also tested for four variations of land use by developing scenarios. Scenario 1 is related to the year 2014, considered current. Scenario 2 was adopted the maximum rate of 80% for land use, allowed for the Natal City. Scenario 3 gives the critical condition of land use, with the area 100% impervious. Scenario 4 is applied to the existence of LID (Low Impact Device). The scenarios analysis showed that all indicate deficiency at some point of the drainage system as a result of the high degree of occupation of the area that generate higher flows than the initial drainage system capacity. With the study it became clear that the adoption of non-structural tools are effective in reducing flooding and improving the drainage system capacity.

Cidades saudáveis e qualidade de vida em Uberlândia (MG): aportes metodológicos para um processo em construção

The current study includes theoretical and methodological reflections on the quality of life in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. It started from the thought that the quality of life is multifactorial and is permanently under construction and the main objective of analyzing it as one of the componets of Healthy Cities's moviment. The theoretical research focused on the concepts of healthy cities, quality of life, health, sustainability, well-being, happiness, indexes and indicators. From the use of multiple search strategies, documentary and on field of quantitative and qualitative character, this research of exploratory descriptive nature can offers a contribution to the studies on the quality of life in cities. It is proposed that the studies startes to work with some concept, like some notions os life quality adequated for some paticular reality, whose notions can approach concepts already established as health. This step is important on the exploratory researches. The studies may include aspects of objective analysis, subjective or both. The objective dimension, which is most common approach, are traditionally considered variables and indicators related to: the urban infrastructure (health, education, leisure, security, mobility), dwelling (quantitative and qualitative dwlling deficit), the urban structure (density and mix uses), socioeconomic characteristics (age, income, education), urban infrastructure (sanitation, communication), governance (social mobilization and participation). To focus on the subjective dimension, most recent and unusual, it is proposed to consider the (dis)satisfaction, the personal assessment in relation to the objective aspects. In conclusion, being intrinsically related to the health, the quality of life also has a number of determinants, and the ideal of the reach of quality of life depends on the action of all citizens based on the recognition of networks and territories, in a interescalar perspective and intersectoral. Therefore, emphasis in given on the potential of tools, such as the observatories, to monitor and intervent in reality, aiming in a building process of healthy cities.

The Effect of Slum Redevelopment on Child Health Outcomes: Evidence from Mumbai

As the population of urban poor living in slums increases, governments are trying to relocate people into government-provided free housing. Slum redevelopment affects every part of a household’s livelihood, but most importantly the health and wellbeing of younger generations. This paper investigates the effect of slum redevelopment schemes on child stunting levels. Data was collected in forty-one buildings under the slum-redevelopment program in Mumbai. The study demonstrates through a fixed effect regression analysis that an additional year of living in the building is associated with an increase in the height-for-age Z-score by 0.124 standard deviations. Possible explanations include an improvement in the overall hygienic environment, sanitation conditions, indoor air pollution, and access to health and water facilities. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that water contamination, loss of livelihood and increased expenses could worsen health outcomes for residents. This study prompts more research on the health effects of slum redevelopment projects, which are becoming increasingly common in the rapidly urbanizing developing world.