Um estudo sobre os espaços públicos: Análise dos usos das praças na cidade de Ituiutaba- MG

Abstract

Through this research we intend to investigate the theme of the public spaces in the city, having as main focus some squares in the city of Ituiutaba-MG, especially regarding their forms of appropriation, their functions and their daily uses. In order to do this, we used the transect technique to define the study areas, which consisted in drawing a line from north-south to east-west of the city, from which 28 of the squares were located near those lines. Considering the significant number of squares, we chose to work with a sample, that is, a third of the total, specifically places located in the central area and in the peripheral areas. Therefore, we made a raffle to stablish the places to be studied, such as: Praça Paul Percy Harris, Praça Caiapônia, Praça Boa Vista, Praça Getúlio Vargas (praça da 26), Praça Conego Ângelo (praça da Prefeitura), Praça do Adelino Oliveira (praça do Fórum) and Praça Benedito Valadares. After deciding which squares we would study, the fieldwork was carried out on different days of the week and in the morning, in the afternoon and at night, in order to observe the structure of these spaces, the uses that the population assign to these squares and, consequently, the function that these spaces have for the city and its citizens. From the results of this research we can infer that the studied squares represent multifunctionality and are used in different ways and at different times of the day, by different social groups that assign different functions to them. Through the analysis of the results we can highlight that, in general, public spaces are not treated as a priority in the urban space production process; they are usually in second place, because the results point us to a series of problems related to accessibility and its internal structure, making their use impossible. Finally, our perspective of analysis was to emphasize that these places are of relevance due to the public character they exert and, precisely because of this, they are places of urban sociability.