Os impactos da ocupação do comércio informal em praças públicas: um olhar a partir da Praça do Caranguejo em Lauro de Freitas/Ba

Abstract

Public squares throughout their long history have translated into their different uses, purposes and appropriations, the changes that have taken place in society. With the growth of cities, and the problems related to the escalation of urban poverty, unemployment and the growth of informality, the squares went through a process of occupation by commercial activities, especially informal street commerce. This study aimed to analyze the influence of informal commerce on the spatial and usage transformations of Praça do Caranguejo in the municipality of Lauro de Freitas / BA. The research with a qualitative and explanatory approach, analyzed from the opinions of residents of the census sectors in the vicinity of the square, the transformations that occurred in the area. The location of the square in the central region of the neighborhood allowed the impacts of demographic growth and the commercial consolidation of the area, to directly impact its dynamics of uses and space. The lack of security, conservation and leisure equipment were the main factors that led to a decrease in the presence of residents in the square. Understanding the perception of residents who frequent and non-frequent on the square, allowed to point out ways to its rescue as a cultural, leisure and entertainment symbol in a peripheral neighborhood