Experiências urbanas da migração: reflexões sobre chineses e venezuelanos na cidade de João Pessoa/PB

Abstract

Present throughout human history, migratory movements are objects of interest in various disciplinary fields. The insertion of a population of international migrants in the city has direct and indirect impacts on commercial activities, on the sociocultural system, on patterns of occupation, on the production and image of the space. This argument, fully accepted in past decades, is currently under debate, as the current context of world integration and neoliberalism has transformed migratory patterns. The city-migrant relationship today shows that, in many cases, problems present in the daily lives of populations in countries (especially peripheral ones) are mixed with the experiences brought and lived by new inhabitants - such as the right to the city, spatial segregation, urban mobility and working conditions – reinforcing patterns of inequality, related to traditional indicators of urban studies (Housing, Mobility, Work, Leisure and Cultural Habits). In this context, the thesis had as its starting questions: How does the profile of the current migrant impact on otherness? What effects do these migrants have on the city, specifically, on the neighborhoods in which they settle? As a preliminary answer, the working hypothesis indicates that, although it is built from local peculiarities, the urban experience of the international migrant reflects the characteristics of the global and globalized migratory phenomenon, such as provisionality and translocality, which organize the modes of work, housing, displacements and leisure in space. The thesis analyzes the urban experience of two distinct ethnic groups and newcomers to João Pessoa, Paraíba, which stand out for their strong presence in two neighborhoods: Chinese migrants in the Center and Venezuelan refugees in Mangabeira, South Zone. their dynamics of occupation of the urban area and identify indicators of presence common to both groups, in order to clarify aspects that bring them closer and differentiate them. The methodological proposal, of a qualitative nature, used field observation, semi-structured interviews and, in the Venezuelan case, a workshop using the technique of the Teatro do Oprimido, by Augusto Boal. The study enables a broad understanding of: (i) impacts of the current migratory phenomenon in the city; (ii) adaptation of the migrant to the new reality; (iii) effects produced by the two groups (Chinese and Venezuelan) in different areas of the city of João Pessoa; (iv) particularities that characterize the urban experiences of these groups. In addition to encouraging the recognition and appreciation of the migrant population, it is expected to encourage further research in the field of Architecture and Urbanism.