URBAN GREEN AREAS AND QUALITY OF LIFE: Perceptions of users in Bosque dos Namorados, Natal-RN.
Green areas. Quality of life. Urban space. Public health. Nature.
The green areas of cities play an important role in terms of the environment, biodiversity and health promotion. At the same time, they are spaces that promote well-being and quality of life for residents, stimulating social interactions, leisure, the practice of sports and recreational activities and strengthening the Society-Nature connection. They are also sensory spaces that break with the urban landscape based on the alignment of buildings. Its importance was highlighted in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, given the possibility of maintaining physical and social activities, maintaining health safety recommendations. In the context of climate change, green areas are important in the planned adaptation of cities. This study proposes to analyze the appropriation and perception of users of Bosque dos Namorados-Natal/RN, in correlation with the discussion of quality of life and well-being brought about by green areas in urban areas. Green areas in urban areas are characterized as places with ecological-environmental, aesthetic and leisure functions, as well as consisting mostly of vegetation and/or permeable soil, represented by squares, parks and gardens, for example (ANDRADE, 2011). The research methodology adopts the quali-quanti method, through the descriptive and explanatory level, characteristics of case studies, made possible by the perception research (GIL, 2008; ALVES-MAZZOTTI, 2006). As for the research techniques used, the following are adopted: bibliographical research and integrative systematic review, field work with direct observation and image recording, and semi-structured questionnaire. The systematic review made it possible to consider that in addition to the social benefits, there are benefits to the physical environment and to the fauna and flora, and the analysis of these variables cannot be discarded when listing the role of green areas in the city, being inseparable from the analysis of the benefits to the human being. For the following stages of the research, it is intended to discuss the importance of green areas in the urban context in which they are integrated, so that appropriate actions and strategies are suggested to maximize their benefits. The installation of this equipment must be planned in advance, based on diagnoses and surveys on the perception of the population to be covered, and continuously updated by the managing bodies, aiming to increase the green areas in quantity and quality. Public policies related to the management plan for green areas and involving the conservation and periodic and systematic maintenance of urban equipment need to be ensured, regardless of the alternation of local power.