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

• Grant number: 11/14219-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: May 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography
• Principal Investigator: Eda Maria Góes
• Grantee: Helterson Ribeiro da Silva Leite
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil

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 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 the relationships between the different residents of 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, for long term. Analyzing the physical structures we can identify preliminary the consequences of the implementation of this University, which the main one is the fact that families of permanent residents live far away from the university and the place where the most students live. We intend to analyze how happened this process of spatial separation and think over if it is about a process of segregation or just a spatial segmentation. We intend to look further to the social relations that occur with other people who attend to the neighborhood, either for professional or leisure interests, mainly related to the pubs installed there. 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.(AU)