GUIDELINES FOR THE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INCREASE IN SANTOS, SÃO PAULO STATE

Abstract

The current situation in large urban centers is far from being considered as adequate in relation to the environmental balance. The integration of economic, social and urban development, allied to the implementation of sustainability techniques, contributes to the harmony between gray and green infrastructures in order to obtain a greater appreciation of the natural environment of cities. This, added to an awareness work and environmental education, allows a glimpse of substantial improvement of living conditions in great urban centers. Confronted with the need to make new proposals to enhance sustainability, this article proposes the expansion of green areas in the Santos City by the implementation of some types of green infrastructure, rain gardens and draining decks, besides the expansion of arborization in localized points. This study focuses the waterfront and the intermediate zones, chosen because the large population increase in recent years brought, as a consequence, the increase of heat islands. At the end of this article, it is proposed guidelines possible to be implemented not only in selected areas, but also in other areas of the city.