Redemocratization, Social Movements and the Urban Protection of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The main goal of this article is to evaluate critically the urban protection bias in the legislative context of Rio de Janeiro, since the 1980s, when the redemocratization of the country took place, until the 2000s, marked by major sporting events and the distinction of a part of the city site as "cultural landscape of humanity", granted by UNESCO (2012). During this period, new legal provisions for environmental protection appeared in Rio de Janeiro's legislation, especially the instrument called the Cultural Environment Protection Area (APAC in Portuguese), which constituted a counterpoint to previous urban policies, characterized by urban plans that invariably proposed urban renewal, with a view to the adaptation of the city to the demands of the property and car industries production. The aim here is to evaluate the use of the urban protection tool by the city hall and its distribution through the city site, identifying the different motivations that originated the urban protection initiatives, as well as respective political-administrative impacts.