Comparação entre a qualidade ambiental de dois bairros de Juiz de Fora

Abstract

The characteristics of urban space in its environmental, social and economic, and urban planning practices can affect the welfare and health of the population. Therefore, physical surroundings of residences have been studied in various fields of knowledge. However, despite the increasing interest in this subject, the study of the impact of urban attributes of a context of unity in public health is still poorly developed. For that reason, the intent of this research is to analyze the urban environment comparatively, assessing urban space and environmental quality, and its relation to health. Two Urban Regions (RU) in the city of Juiz de Fora, MG were selected as object of this study for having Social Development Index (IDS) similar and different health data: the RU Esplanada has low commitment levels, while the RU Vila Furtado de Menezes, in contrast, has higher rates. Thus, the research advances to the urban planning field in order to verify whether the physical attributes of urban areas can indicate the difference between urban health. As for the procedures, this work is configured as a descriptive and exploratory research using both qualitative and quantitative methods to allow a broader approach to the object of study. Literature surveys, documentary surveys and physical surveys were used. The high number of tools and analyzes in this study were able to eliminate bias and have pointed directions for further studies. Comparing the results among the tools applied, the two neighborhoods were similar regarding the urbanistic qualifications. An alternative to this is to seek in a multidisciplinary way, contributions of other areas of knowledge and insights in support for new research directions. The indicative results from such studies can guide efforts to intervene in the environment where people live, in order to promote behavioral changes that improve the quality of life and health.