Patterns and processes of hillslope occupation in five Brazilian cities: a comparative study of landscape morphology

Abstract

The pressure exerted by the occupation of Brazilian urban hillsides have generated cumulative impacts on the landscape. This paper analyses the processes of hillside settlements in five Brazilian cities Rio de Janeiro, Vitória, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Florianópolis located in the Southeastern and Southern regions of the country, in order to analyse hillsides landscape morphology and contextualize conflicts and challenges generated by their urban conditions in landscape resilience. The biophysical, landscape and urban planning investigations were drawn from a systemic landscape approach, based on thematic matrices and maps that enabled the correlation of various categories of analysis, encompassing bio-physical and socio-cultural characteristics of the environment. The comprehensive picture of the various factors that influence the carrying capacity and resilience of Brazilian urban slopes exposed in this article indicates the need for the development and implementation of a restorative urbanism, pointing the interface hill-forest-water-community-city and the focus on the open spaces as the fundamental basis for the formation of a network of regeneration, an essential counterpoint to the built form, and a source of support, fellowship, inspiration and inclusion aiming at socio-environmental justice in Brazilian cities.