The Commerce and social relations in Jardim Bongiovani (Presidente Prudente - SP): a study by the urban imaginary

• Grant number: 11/14321-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography
• Principal Investigator: Eda Maria Góes
• Grantee: Felipe Augusto Rainho Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 13/21204-3 - Between local and global: sub-centers and commercial axis in Lleida (Catalonia - Spain) and Presidente Prudente (São Paulo - Brazil), BE.EP.IC

Abstract

As the current urban environment is extremely complex and this complexity reflects directly in the relations between different social groups, this research project aims to identify and analyze these relations based on the commercial activities of a neighborhood, through the perspective of the imaginary. The imaginary urban constitute a mode of interpretation that allows some ways to understand the city and the relations established between the citizens. This project aims to analyze how commercial activities affect the dynamics and the relationships between the different residents and other people who attend to the Jardim Bongiovani, a neighborhood located in Presidente Prudente - SP. The construction of a local University that imposed the coexistence of young students, who reside temporarily in the neighborhood and the families who live there more permanently, attracting therefore commercial interests. We can identify preliminary consequences of the implementation of this University, as the concentration of the businesses in specific areas, according to the target audience. We intend to analyze how the commerce influences a visible process of spatial separation in the Jardim Bongiovani, and think over if it is about a process of segregation or just a spatial segmentation, focusing on the conflicts triggered. Finally, we intend to go deeply in the understanding of the concept of urban imaginary, based on the study of this case study, and its possible contributions to understand the contemporary city.