Between the rural and the urban: Gramorezinho’s AEIS socioenvironmental relations and implications for its regulation
Rural-urban relations. Urban and periurban agriculture. Food safety. Especial Areas of Social Interest. Gramorezinho.
One of the many impacts of the global urbanization process is the urban fabric the spreading above rural areas, not only on its territorial dimension, but also through values and habits related to the urban way of life. However, rurality islands have survived inside or along cities and the recent debates about the role of Urban and Periurban Agriculture (UPA) has reinforced the permanence of spaces devoted to this activity inside or next to cities, aiming the promotion of social and spatial justice, the protection of the natural environment or the improvement of quality of life inside cities. This research studies an area called Gramorezinho, which has rural characteristics inside the urban limits of Natal. Gramorezinho was defined as an Especial Area of Social Interest (AEIS) by Natal’s masterplan of 2007, although this area was not delimeted nor regulated. This research is driven by the following question: which are the socioeconomical and physical-environmental specificities of Gramorezinho that base its effectuation as an AEIS of Food Safety according to Natal’s Masterplan? Its main objective is to comprehend the Food Security Areas inside Natal’s Masterplan, through the analysis of Gramorezinho’s context, aiming to establish guidelines to its regulation.