Os portos que habitam o lugar: percepção e revitalização do “Porto Velho” do Rio Grande.

Abstract

The story of the city of Rio Grande is surrounded by its connection with the water. At first, it played a role in territorial maintenance during disputes between the Portuguese and The Spanish. The Patos Lagoon constitutes an initial guiding element for Rio Grande's urban layout. Its undeniable association with the water conferred Rio Grande a specialization and dependence that would influence citizens' knowledge and practices. Given the symbolic importance of the area of the Porto Velho (Old Port) of Rio Grande in the construction of the identity and the population's perception of its current detachment and underutilization, the need for its 'revitalization' has been perceived also in face of other projects. This study aims at identifying if the implementation of a revitalization project of Porto Velho would comply with the expectations of the Rio Grande community. To verify this hypothesis, we divided the work in two groups. In the first group, starting with the identification and the interpretation of the guiding elements of the contest basis, we sought point out the objectives of the project's production and execution. In the second, through a questionnaire, we sought to identify the community's preferences and expectations within the scope of environmental perception. After the analysis of the results, solid awareness has been evidenced of patrimonial issues regarding the city by the people from Rio Grande as well as their representativeness in the project design. Furthermore, it was noticed that a space of social conviviality depends not only on the economic sphere but also on the diffusion of the symbolic sphere. Local people needs to have the opportunity to choose if a space will become a place.