Áreas verdes e funções socioambientais: uma análise da infraestrutura verde do Grande Maracanã, Montes Claros - MG

Abstract

Intense urbanization unaccompanied by proper planning produces an imbalance between the expanding built-up areas and the maintenance of important natural attributes that provide socio-environmental quality to the urban space. In the midst of the sprawling urban fabric, green areas are important community equipment that, in the performance of their ecological, social, educational, psychological and aesthetic functions, help to improve the quality of life and increase the well-being of the population. In the scope of Montes Claros - MG, the urban development marked by the low environmental adherence gave rise to allotted areas that are characterized by the lack of a green infrastructure. In view of the above, the objective of this work was to analyze the location of green areas allocated in the subdivisions of the Maracanã planning region. Specifically, the urban-environmental parameters used for the definition, delimitation and use of urban green areas were identified; then, the distribution of green areas by allotment was verified through a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform; and finally, the green areas of the subdivisions were evaluated in terms of urban conditions and forms of collective appropriation. The applied methodology was guided by a qualitative and quantitative approach research that involved important operational steps such as bibliographic survey, documentary research and field research. The operational steps developed contributed with the theoretical notes regarding the theme and with the collection of data for later analysis and systematization of the results. The results showed that the Maracanã planning region has a Total Green Area Index – (IAVT) of 1.45 m² per inhabitant. This value is far below the value of 10 m² per inhabitant proposed by the Municipal Master Plan for the urban space of Montes Claros. From the analyzes carried out, it is possible to conclude that the distribution and quality of green areas in the Maracanã Planning region is a reflection of the absence of guidelines and environmental criteria, as instruments that could have guided the accelerated urbanization process experienced by Montes Claros. As a consequence, its urban spatialization was structured by a tiny and uneven amount of free spaces free of any value or environmental meaning that proved to be insufficient to meet the ecological and social demands of the population of the Greater Maracanã and other regions of the city. In the case of the Maracanã region, this low rate of green areas can still be reversed with the expansion of its green infrastructure through the adoption of a planning policy that saves local ecosystem potential. For this, urban planning is essential, since it manages to align the quantity, layout and size of green areas with the expected population growth for the region.