Open space's system and urban morphology in Vitoria's island, Espírito Santo, Brasil

Abstract

The argument presented in this article deals with the relationship between the open spaces system and the urban form of Vitoria, capital of Espírito Santo, in the southeast of Brazil, specifically the island’s territory. The decision about the area of study has as its main feature the fact that the island has harbored the beginning, of the site occupation in the early XVI century by Portuguese settlers and since then has held successive and diversified forms of occupations. The methodology consists mainly of a survey of public and private open spaces through satellite images, and whenever necessary field trips, and also a study about urban evolution. The research allowed the identification of distinct morphologies, characterized in terms of the historical process of urban occupation of the area and its relation to the physical site. It should also be noted that the island territory, originally formed by hills and a narrow strip of land between these hills and the sea, identified as a safe haven by the Portuguese, only evolved into the current metropolitan center due to successive landfills done throughout time.