A ferrovia e os viadutos em Juiz de Fora (MG): o processo de produção do espaço urbano e regional

Abstract

The construction of railway overpasses in Juiz de Fora (MG) has become the main strategy of the public authorities to deal with the tracks that cross the most densely urbanized and populated areas. In the last five years, three new overpasses have been built, thanks to a partnership between the PJF , DNIT and MRS. The overall objective of this work is to analyze the overlap between railways and viaducts and the production of urban space in Juiz de Fora (MG), as well as their role in the regional context, considering the changes that occurred between 2020 and 2025. The methodological procedures used include a literature review, consultation of various databases, a search for laws and official documents and news, in addition to fieldwork. The first chapter discusses the dominant forces that established the main transport infrastructures from a historical perspective, enabling an understanding of the period of railway establishment in the city and some of its most important highways. This chapter also includes initial elaborations on the creation of viaducts in Juiz de Fora, focusing on the period between 2020 and 2025. Chapter 2 addresses the functions performed by the railway on a regional scale, through its relationship with the mining economy, since the administration of MRS, and by the viaduct, on the scales of the city and the center of Juiz de Fora. These elaborations are based on the idea of territorial fluidity, which helps in understanding the accelerations of flows related to capitalist circulation. Chapter 3 focuses on the conflicts generated by both the fixed nature of the railway and the construction of the viaducts, understanding them as fixed elements correlated in their spatial distribution. To this end, the concepts of circulation and urban mobility were mobilized in an attempt to understand the diverse impacts generated by these infrastructures on the lived reality in Juiz de Fora. It was found that the defense of railway safety and the strategies for crossing the railway have benefited only a portion of the population, while pedestrians continue to create strategies for territorial circumvention when dealing with long distances and significant insecurity. Finally, the concluding remarks highlight the centrality of dominant and vertical forces in the production of urban space in Juiz de Fora and its position within the regional context. Furthermore, it was noted that the circulation flows of the productive process are often privileged over the flows of ordinary citizens, and that railways and viaducts currently do not contribute to a more egalitarian urban mobility policy in the city.