Centro antigo de João Pessoa: forma, uso e patrimônio edificado

Abstract

The city of João Pessoa (Paraíba, Brazil) underwent urban transformations over the centuries that brought with them a number of consequences for its initial core, which is the study universe of this research. Its gradual loss of economic relevance to other parts of the city was accompanied by the emergence of some urban problems, usually seen in many downtown areas in large Brazilian cities such as degradation and mischaracterization of the built heritage, empty or underutilized buildings, decline of residential use, feeling of insecurity, among others. This paper presents an analysis of this reality in Old Town João Pessoa, within the historic perimeter set by IPHAEP (Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute of the State of Paraíba). The aim of the thesis was to investigate the possible correlations among these three variables: observation of the city urban morphology, uses and conservation of the built heritage in the studied perimeter, thereby diagnosing the incompatibilities that generate the existing conditions - besides suggesting possible solutions. The morphological study was based on the descriptive theory known as Space Syntax, which seeks to observe analogies between urban form and its existing social relations, assuming the proposition that both can be mutually influenced.