Impactos do Turismo Cultural sobre comunidades urbanas tradicionais: o caso da Região Portuária do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The main objective of this research is to evaluate the impacts of the phenomenon of touristification in traditional populations, taking the port region of Rio de Janeiro and its neighborhoods (Saúde, Gamboa, Santo Cristo and part of Downtown) as a case study. At first, the region was historically marked by housing the Afro-Brazilian population, as well as by environmentally impacting economic activities (slave trade, port and industrial activities, etc.). It is also characterized by concentrating a large amount of social and historically marginalized populations which, from 2009 onwards, started to coexist with another urban problem: the increase in tourist activity. Touristification is the process of transforming a place into a tourist territory, using city spaces to promote places to meet the desires of certain social groups from the public and private sectors (market makers). It turns out that this process is linked to the practice of cultural tourism, which may or may not bring benefits to local communities, depending on how it is managed. It is observed, based on specialized literature, that this activity can socially impact on the quality of life of existing social groups and mischaracterize their cultural assets, putting at risk the references of different identity groups. Given this scenario, this study is justified by the fact that the aforementioned neighborhoods present a contrasting context, composed, on the one hand, by a historical trajectory of social segregation, combined with a vast cultural heritage recognized nationally and internationally and, on the other, by the impacts and risks arising from cultural tourism, such as the worsening of existing social problems and the weakening of traditional cultural practices and their identity elements, through the insertion of new urban cultural facilities, such as tourist attractions. Among the specific objectives, we intend to: reflect on the phenomenon of tourism in traditional urban communities and their socio-cultural relationship; briefly describe milestones in the local population, in cultural, political and historical terms; address the main local transformations resulting from the new city management model in the port region (Porto Maravilha Project) and verify the losses and gains of the neighborhoods and their cultural aspects. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, this research started from a theoretical and methodological basis, through bibliographic analysis and in loco observation of changes arising from urban interventions and production of localities, for the increase of the tourist activity. In light of this, the present study is divided into four chapters. Initially, the phenomenon of tourism and its impacts on the local scale are addressed, with emphasis on the city of Rio de Janeiro. In the second moment, the milestones of interventions in the neighborhoods are identified, reflecting the stigma of segregation and social memory in the region. In the third chapter, the Porto Maravilha Project and its developments in the current context of the city are discussed as a case study. Finally, the significant impacts on these locations are evaluated after the implementation of Porto Maravilha Project, as well as the possible future scenarios.