As ruas como espaços de sociabilidade: relações entre a configuração da malha urbana e o potencial de vitalidade da via pública em Juiz de Fora-MG

Abstract

Since the beginning of the formation of cities, announced by the sedentariness of man and his settlement in a particular place, the collective way of life presents itself as a fundamental component of society. Therefore, the city plays the fundamental role of creating spaces conducive to the sociability of people. In this conception, public spaces, such as squares, parks, and gardens were given special attention in urban planning principles. However, for a long period of time the streets, the main component of the system of public spaces in a city, for many reasons, had their importance reduced to a mere traffic circulation channel that reduces the vitality of public roads. Against this background, this work aimed to provide a reflection on the importance of the sociability of streets as an essential urban fact for the fulfillment of the social function of the city taking into account the relationship between two variables: the configuration of the urban fabric and the vitality potential of the public streets. For this purpose, an empirical analysis was developed in the Center Planning Region of the city of Juiz de Fora-MG to determine the relationship between these two variables. The Spatial Syntax Theory was used to study the urban configuration considering the syntactic measures of Integration, Connectivity, and Choice and to evaluate the streets vitality conditions six elements were observed: 1) land use; 2) public/private interface; 3) sidewalk; 4) crossing; 5) street furniture; and, 6) vegetation. The main finding was that there appears seems to be a direct relationship between the two analysis variables in the specific subject of study. Despite this relationship, however, it must be recognized that the discussion of the importance of streets as spaces of sociability is much more complex than simply evaluating the arrangement of the urban fabric and the physical elements that make up the streets. This discussion must also be conducted from a social perspective in order to understand the existing relationships in such a complex environment as the public spaces of a city, taking into account, above all, the perceptions and actions at the human level.