Urban courses: heritage education based on walking in the city center of Fortaleza-CE
Heritage education, walkability, cultural courses of Fortaleza, perception of cultural heritage.
The paper analyzes the importance of heritage education based on the practice of walking. The study discusses how walking in historical áreas of Fortaleza´s centre provides the recognition of roughness of the historical tissue. The research followed some courses organized by professors and professionals linked to History, Tourism, Architecture and Urbanism. The hypothesis of the present study is that, despite the physical conditions and the neglect of the patrimonial property of Fortaleza, it is possible to practice patrimonial education activities that contribute to the legibility of the cultural heritage. The theoretical-methodological framework is the theme of linking urban form and city apprehension discussed by authors such as Gordon Cullen (2006), José Lamas (2011), Kevin Lynch (2006) and Camillo Sitte (1992). Another aspect discussed in the thesis is walking as an instrument for the recognition of the city, authors such as Paola Jacques (2012a) and Francesco Careri (2013b) clarify these issues. The discussions about cultural tourism and the proposition of meaningful itineraries for the participants were based on the writings of Flavia Costa (2014), Herminia Vargas and Ricardo Paiva (2016). The study is based on bibliographic, documentary and field research to understand the heritage perception of the central area of the city. As for the results, it was observed that the accompanying tours had an essentially informative character, corroborating little to the creation of narratives with the place. Finally, the research ela borates a route proposal that aims at the possibility of building links between participants with the city's history, providing a panorama of apprehension of the “resistant” historical fabric in the City Center.