Spaces, Processes and Vulnerability Relations In Santa Cruz do Sul (RS) city: building paths in environmental justice field

Abstract

Nowadays it can be observed that the urban environment is highly influenced by spatial occupation activities, which are capable to shape its social, cultural, economic and political aspects. Space modification activities, such as the resources exploitation, frequently create interactions between social actors (also known as environmental conflict). These interactions are part of the establishment of environmental injustice situations in the exploited areas, being they also an important part in the study and search for solutions to these inequalities. This research proposes an analysis of the main environmental conflicts occurred in a two-year period in the urban area of Santa Cruz do Sul city (RS), through the listing of occurrences registered in the local newspaper (Gazeta do Sul) and the identification of the risk area s existing in the city. The analysis of these data, classified in predefined problem-situations, enabled the understanding of the vulnerabilization processes that affect populations with low income and limited political participation in the city. In reference of the way that the identified conflicts unfold, the analysis allowed the connection between the acquired data and the local sociopolitical processes, which led to the comprehension of their possible causes.