The environmental quality of the open spaces in the central campuses of the UFPB and UFRN: a study through the perspective of the Post-Occupancy Evaluation
Environmental quality, open spaces system, university environment.
In response to the national policies for the sector, the campuses of the Brazilian Federal Institutions of Higher Education (IFES) proliferated from the decade of 1960 to the 70’s, and developed slowly during the second half of the twentieth century, and in the last decade, suffered intensive changes in its physical structure, which may influence on its environmental quality (QA), and consequently on the quality of life (QOL) of the user population: students, professors, employees and visitors. Considering this issue, the thesis takes as the object of study the QA offered by the open spaces system (SEL) in the campuses of IFES and its relationship with QOL of its members. Therefore, the campuses located in the Brazilian Northeast were the focus of the study. An initial look at the IFES emerged the initial question that leads this research: Are the free spaces (ELs) of the IFES offering QA and, consequently QV to its users? Responding provisionally to this question, the hypotheses worked indicates that: a) The QA in the SEL of the IFES does not attend the expectations of its users, because it is offering unattractive open spaces ELs to the community; b) After the increase of occupation, of the IFES there are few and dispersed SEL open spaces with inadequate QA; c) the QA and SEL in the campuses of IFES surveyed, does not offer features that contributes to the QOL of its users. In order to undertake the necessary research discussion, the general objective of this study is to understand the SEL of the federal universities in the Brazilian Northeast, aiming to draw guidelines to promote its environmental quality QA. Subsidizing this empirical research activity is used as spatial cutout two campuses area: the Campus I of the UFPB, and the Central Campus of the UFRN, in regard to it, was delimited the specific objectives: a) to verify how was the occupation of space on campus study and its remaining ELs; b) to identify the understanding of users of the SEL of the surveyed part in the IFES, in order to assess the suitability of these spaces to their needs / aspirations; c) to characterize the existing SEL, and its current and potential use; d) to analyze the significant dimensions to maintain the QA in the SEL; e) to indicate open spaces ELs which must maintain its current condition, free from urban occupation; f) to define strategies to the system organization. In this context, methodologically the thesis is based on a literature review on the topics: campus, open spaces system, quality of life and environmental quality. The research corresponds empirically to a multiple-case study, using as a research strategy the Post-Occupancy Evaluation performed through the multimethod approach, which, in addition to the generation of a wide diagnosis, aims to reflect on the SEL in a new perspective, the university environment. This qualification/pre-defense documents presents the main results of the first empirical study (UFPB) and provides guidance for the continuation of the work to be concluded in the first half of 2017.1.