The concept of neighborhood in Brazilian urban legislation and its application in Neighborhood Impact Studies (EIV) in Florianópolis/SC

Abstract

The delimitation of the affected areas by the urban environmental impacts, carried out during the Vicinity Impact Studies (EIV), is essential for the projects’ fulfillment of the property’s social role and the city’s social role. The article demonstrates, based on concrete cases’ research, how the vicinity has been circumscribed during the first five years of application of the instrument in the city of Florianópolis/SC. Thirty-two approved EIVs constituted the reference cases for the analysis. Furthermore, the documents submitted by the entrepreneurs, the evaluation issued by the Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano de Florianópolis (Ipuf), and the approved Terms of Compensation Commitment, in addition to exploratory visits provided the data and technical specifications elected for the research. The research sampling highlighted frequent distortions regarding the concept of vicinity applied in the implementation of the EIV urban policy instrument since the delimitation of those impacted in the city is not used as a parameter for defining the affected area by the impacts of the projects. The surveys indicated the need to review the vicinity delimitation precept, essential for the principle of the social role of the property to prevail over individual benefits.

Keywords:
Vicinity; Urban impacts; Property’s social role