Espaços públicos e turistificação: o caso da Praça Zumbi dos Palmares, em Angra dos Reis, RJ

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the impacts of the touristification process on the uses and forms of socio-spatial appropriation of Zumbi dos Palmares Square, located in the center of Angra dos Reis (RJ). It begins with an understanding of public space as an arena of disputes, marked by conflicts, heterogeneities, and power relations, in which distinct interests are expressed among public and private agents and social groups who experience this territory daily. The study's general objective is to understand the socio-spatial implications and alterations in the processes of social appropriation resulting from the touristification of the square, with an emphasis on the fishermen and market vendors historically linked to the location. Methodologically, this is a qualitative and exploratory research, based on bibliographic and documentary research, nonparticipant observation, and semi-structured interviews with different territorial agents. The analysis of the collected information was guided by Content Analysis. The analysis is based on the frameworks of Critical Geography, especially the concepts of public space, territory, territoriality, and touristification, considering both the material and immaterial dimensions of space. The results indicate that the process of touristification has promoted significant transformations in the form, function, and meanings of public space, generating reconfigurations in daily uses and intensifying territorial tensions and conflicts. A progressive weakening of the activity of market vendors is observed, associated with the precariousness of work structures and the removal of the old municipal market, while fishermen maintain a greater capacity to remain in the territory, even though they face conflicts that threaten the continuity of artisanal fishing. Simultaneously, the square consolidates itself as a symbolic and political territory for Afro-Brazilian cultural and religious manifestations. It is concluded that the touristification of Zumbi dos Palmares Square reorganizes the territory in an unequal way, promoting disputes between appropriation and domination, as well as the exercise of territoriality in public space. In this sense, the work contributes to discussions in the field of Urban Geography about the impact of tourism on urban space, the daily disputes in public space, and territorial conflicts, reaffirming the importance of localized approaches attentive to the specificities of the territories.