Características urbanas e ambientais, em áreas com potencial de renaturalização, de rios urbanos na cidade de Bagé/RS

Abstract

This research deals with urban and environmental characteristics in areas with potential for renaturalization of urban rivers in the city of Bagé/RS, with the main objective of identifying these characteristics, also including the specific objectives of addressing the different concepts of river renaturalization, in addition to presenting the executed projects. To accomplish this, it studies the concepts of interventions in watercourses and presents river renaturalization projects, executed inside and outside Brazil, to identify their particularities and recurrences. Then, a single case study is performed in the urban area of Bagé, RS, a city on the border between Brazil and Uruguay, divided into four sub-basins, in order to adopt them as spatial units of research and allow for comparative analysis between their results. In these sub-basins, work areas are delimited by identifying areas that are most susceptible to flooding, due to their importance for the ecosystem and protection against flooding, which was particularly evident in 2024. Thus, the research as a whole finds academic justification in the knowledge gap regarding specific research on river naturalization in Brazil, capable of generating plans adapted to Brazilian conditions, and social justification, due to the increase in quality of life, return of water quality, requalification of areas, flood risk management and environmental awareness. Although they are secondary objectives, the identification of urban sub-basins, drainage lines and areas susceptible to flooding assume importance in the methodology and results, given the need for spatial delimitation of the object of empirical study, towards which efforts are directed to identify areas with potential for renaturalization and their urban and environmental characteristics. In this way, based on the case studies presented and the bibliographic research, the following factors were assumed to be investigated in the areas susceptible to flooding in each sub-basin: land subdivisions and use, urban indexes, road infrastructure, altitude, slope, built-up areas and open spaces. After the spatial analyses were done, supported by geoprocessing techniques and qualitative and quantitative arguments, the investigation reached its results, which indicate that the border areas are places that demonstrate greater possibilities for the river renaturalization process, as they contain larger plots of land, with a greater accumulation of vacant lots, lower occupancy rates, built-up areas and number of inhabitants; because they contain unpaved roads, capable of allowing soil permeability, and availability of more than 70% of open spaces, when compared to the central areas. In the end, the investigation recognizes the need to expand the scope of the work, to deepen the theoretical field and replicate the studies in other cities, mainly in the border area between Brazil and Uruguay. Finally, the author hopes, with this research, to contribute to improving the quality of life in cities, highlighting the importance of renaturalization processes.