THE ORGANIZATION AND SPATIAL (RE)PRODUCTION OF THE LANDSCAPE ON AVENIDA SOARES LOPES IN ILHÉUS – BAHIA

 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.8211666

 

João Gabriel de Moraes Pinheiro

Student of the Bachelor's Degree in Geography at the State University of Santa Cruz - UESC, e-mail: jgmpinheiro.bge@uesc.br .

 

Deyvisson Cristiã Araújo Alves

Geographer from the State University of Santa Cruz - UESC, e-mail: dcaalves.bge@uesc.br .

ABSTRACT

This work aims to analyze the spatial organization in the landscape of Avenida Soares Lopes located in the center of the city of Ilhéus, on the South Coast of Bahia, and to understand how the past socio-spatial dynamics of the city reverberated in the current spatial organization. This is an exploratory and descriptive study with on-site visits that aim to carry out a survey of public facilities and the agents that work in the (re)production of the space on Avenida Soares Lopes. The analysis emphasized this coastal avenue as it concentrates tourist attractions and historic buildings that attract a constant flow of people from different regions of Brazil and the world, thus contributing to economic development as it generates employment and income on a local scale. A semiotic argument was also carried out, demonstrating the dyad of this Avenue: the same as a sign of Ilhéus and holder of its own signs, in which the main signs present on the avenue and the perception of the resident population of the avenue, the workers and the tourists that trigger topophilic and topophobic reactions in the perception of this space, as pointed out by Tuan. Due to the construction of Porto do Malhado in the 1970s, the avenue as well as the beach was formed due to maritime progradation, which caused the accumulation of sediments. The survey also highlighted a real estate appreciation process with the installation of high-income residential condominiums and commercial developments, such as fast-food chains, bars, restaurants, medical clinics and leisure centers. Therefore, Avenida Soares Lopes and its immediate surroundings require special attention from the municipal public authorities, since, in addition to being the main central artery of the city, it is connected to the Historic Center of Ilhéus, in addition to being, at this moment , an area that receives an urban operation with a great impact on the landscape, the Jorge Amado cable-stayed bridge that connects the Center to the south zone of Ilhéus. Therefore, the relationship that is established between society, the surrounding environment and the work for the formation of space can also be seen on Avenida Soares Lopes, where it has become a place of multiple signs and meanings and will be in the memory of tourists and city ​​residents contributing to future mutations, both physical and social.

Keywords: Tourism. Cocoa Region. avenue.