Sol, mar & contrastes: territórios em conflito na orla litorânea, Maceió-AL

Abstract

Maceió stands out as a tourist destination in the Northeast region of Brazil, with the natural landscape made up of beaches that are part of the urban context of the city as its main attraction. However, the city of Maceió is not just made up of sun and sea, it is also marked by social and spatial contrasts, which are revealed by the landscape itself. These contrasts are even seen in the spatialisation of free spaces aimed at the population's leisure, with the central stretch of the coastline being the main space for this purpose. It is within this panorama that, in recent decades, the public authorities have invested heavily in urban marketing to promote the city as a tourist destination, through the image of the coastline, in an attempt to satisfy tourist demand, but also the real estate market. A stretch of Maceió's coastline stands out, known as “Rua Fechada”, located in the Ponta Verde neighborhood, which is closed to cars on Sundays, constituting free space. Despite appearing at first glance to be a democratic space focused on leisure, socio-spatial conflicts are commonly seen in this space, involving various social actors. The general objective of this study is to analyse the different social uses that occur in Rua Fechada, based on the notion of multiple territories and in light of the right to the city notion. The research, of a qualitative nature, is configured as an exploratory and descriptive study. The methodology included interviews, questionnaires with closed and open questions, field observation, photographic records and documentary analysis. The study found the existence of socio spatial conflicts in Rua Fechada, particularly related to the way in which certain social actors perceive residents who come from peripheral neighborhoods of the capital of Alagoas, with the purpose of taking advantage of the leisure opportunities that Rua Fechada offers.