Praças e vitalidade urbana: análises e diretrizes para intervenção em Cataguases - MG

Abstract

The current work investigated the squares of Cataguases - MG to examine its spatial quality and understand its conditioning, potential and vulnerabilities in the physical aspect that accrete or limit their vitality - measured in this work by people’s presence and diversity. Furthermore, this work also aims to present a detailed diagnosis about two squares for future intervention. The research was developed based on the concepts of square, urban vitality and relationship between people and public free spaces. For that, a bibliographic research was made, followed by a detailed diagnosis about all the 28 city’s public squares, allowing a delineation of its dynamics of functioning and components that favor its use or no. The area chosen for the intervention project was also studied through the Behavioral Map methodology. Finally, it was concluded that Cataguases’s public squares have a great potential to add quality of life to the people, but many of them, lack or have in a precarious state, elements that could enhance its vitality and therefore, the vitality of the urban public space.