O lazer e a residência secundária em Angra dos Reis-RJ

Abstract

This Doctoral research was conducted in the Brazilian city of Angra dos Reis, located in Rio de Janeiro state, and it investigated the issue of leisure among its inhabitants as associated with the growth of the second home business. The concept of the second home is considered problematic because it covers many variables, such as the distribution, the characteristics, the function, the planning aspects and the social impacts. In current studies Brazilian researchers have been working within the definition of a 'second home' as a residence with a minimum length of occupancy and proof of the possession of two residences. In the case of Angra dos Reis, this concept was not adequate to understand the impacts of this business on the leisure of the inhabitants. The main reason rests on a particular type of second home established in Angra dos Reis called 'gated communities', a type of residence that conjures images of "a residential area with restricted access […] with walls or fences, and controlled entrances that are intended to prevent penetration by non-residents. Mainly, these types of second home have been constructed around desirable natural amenities (beaches, waterfalls and forests) in Angra dos Reis, and have been sold on the basis of the exclusive natural spaces guaranteed by the second home market. This research aimed to analyse the relationship between local residents and second homeowners. Using the ethnographic method, the researcher conducted opportunistic sampling in a specific neighbourhood called Frade. The study revealed the genesis and the function of the social networks of locals and second homeowners, but also those of the council and state office representatives, the administrative body of the gated communities and NGOs. The framework theory used in this research drew on the concepts of: 'second homes'; social capital; gated communities; locality; symbiotic and opposite relationships. Consequently, leisure practices such as fishing and golf, shared by local residents and second home owners, showed themselves to be a potential object of material and symbolic exchange through which to establish rules, negotiations and strategies to include or exclude groups of the leisure network.