Design of contemporary open spaces: the Cidade Aracy neighborhood in São Carlos

• Grant number: 11/22614-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2012
• End date: February 28, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Landscaping
• Principal Investigator: Luciana Bongiovanni Martins Schenk
• Grantee: Maria Cecília Pedro Bom de Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Arquitetura e Urbanismo de São Carlos (IAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

From the modernist concepts of urban design and priority given to the flow of vehicles over the flow of people, there is a process of modifying the design of open spaces. The square, a place of living, communication, and contemplation, goes through a process of emptying, even in the contemporary city, and the planning of these sites is overshadowed by the design of private spaces. Even if the design of public spaces does not have great representation in the construction of some contemporary cities, the collective character of the urban environment is not eliminated and is manifested through improvisations of spaces for several activities. On the other hand, the design of squares is often not fully implemented or is used in a different way than expected. In the urban environment, a place of collective life, it is society itself and the context in which it is inserted that shape and qualifies the urban spaces for collective use. From this, we intend to conduct a study of the suburb of São Carlos, the Cidade Aracy in order to observe the open spaces, considering their design and composition over time, their physical characteristics, and the relation between these places and the inhabitants of the neighborhood, in view of the concepts of spaces for community life throughout the history of cities.(AU)