Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: ELISANIA MAGALHAES ALVES MACIEL

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : ELISANIA MAGALHAES ALVES MACIEL
DATE: 10/02/2026
TIME: 14:30
LOCAL: Teleconferência
TITLE:

CONVERGENCE BETWEEN OPEN SPACE SYSTEMS AND URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE: Pathways toward the opening of a territorial network in Natal/RN

KEY WORDS:

open space systems; landscape as infrastructure; green and blue network; urban ecology; climate adaptation.

PAGES: 396
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SUBÁREA: Fundamentos de Arquitetura e Urbanismo
SPECIALTY: Teoria do Urbanismo
SUMMARY:

The theme of this study is connectivity within open space systems, understood as the guiding thread of the convergence between urban infrastructure and landscape planning. The research begins by problematizing traditional models of urbanization, shaped by modern rationality and by the separation between city and nature, which have produced physical, functional, and socio-environmental fragmentation of the urban landscape, intensifying territorial inequalities, environmental degradation, and the unequal distribution of vulnerabilities and risks associated with climate change. The central objective of the research is to investigate the potential of open space systems as interconnected, continuous, and multifunctional systems capable of reorienting urban planning toward more resilient and environmentally qualified cities. The study seeks to demonstrate how the articulation between public open spaces and urban infrastructure networks can function as an instrument of spatial justice, promoting the equitable redistribution of socio-environmental benefits and the reduction of historical vulnerabilities, especially in territories marked by uneven urbanization processes and the overlap of environmental risks. The research is grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, anchored in the principles of urban ecology and contemporary landscape studies, understood through their physical, perceptual, functional, and social appropriation dimensions. Conceptually, the study proposes an expansion of the understanding of infrastructure beyond its technical and operational dimension, situating it within the political and territorial sphere, and introduces the concept of infra-sutures as material and symbolic articulations between public open space systems and urban infrastructure networks. These articulations are capable of recomposing ecological continuities, increasing territorial porosity, and promoting climate adaptation. The empirical focus of the research is the open space system of the municipality of Natal, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, with emphasis on linear and nodal open spaces that are adjacent to and interposed between Environmental Protection Zones. The study is based on the hypothesis that these areas, when articulated through a network of connections structured by the intersection of ecological-climatic, technical, and socio-environmental functions, present high potential to reestablish continuities. Such articulation enables the transformation of drainage systems, risk-prone areas, and containment and circulation infrastructures into a qualified network of public open spaces capable of addressing challenges such as flooding, urban heat islands, and the lack of urban public spaces. Methodologically, the research combines a theoretical-conceptual review with the development of analytical cartography based on the sequential overlay of thematic maps, allowing the identification of areas with greater connectivity potential and the structuring elements of the infra-sutures network. The resulting mosaic is understood as strategic support for urban planning and climate adaptation. As its main contribution, the thesis proposes a conceptual and methodological framework applicable to urban and environmental planning, highlighting the structuring role of open spaces in reducing territorial inequalities, mitigating environmental risks, and fostering the construction of more just, resilient, and integrated cities.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 350504 - MARIA DULCE PICANÇO BENTES SOBRINHA
Interna - 350489 - RUTH MARIA DA COSTA ATAIDE
Externa ao Programa - 2567112 - ANNA RACHEL BARACHO EDUARDO JULIANELLI - UFRNExterna à Instituição - SILVANA FERRACCIU MAMERI - ONG OCEÂNICA
Externa à Instituição - VERÔNICA GARCIA DONOSO - UFSM