When the beauty is the city: protected natural areas in Rio de Janeiro

Annelise Caetano Fraga Fernandez. Profesora de Sociología, Programa de Pos-Graduação em Ciências Sociais, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. annelisecff@ufrrj.br. ORCID:https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2659-9547 

This article analyses the creation and implementation of two protected natural areas (PNA) in the city of Rio de Janeiro. It shows how this at once reveals both the social disparities in the urban evolution process and the potential for constructing the right to the city and the environment as a common good. The results of this process are conditional on balancing the main (often conflicting) goals of protected areas: nature conservation, public use and the land rights of local communities. Starting with a review of the literature on the relationship between the city and nature, the dichotomies and complementarities are presented between those two terms and the classification and designation criteria, which have given rise to a range of social representations, technical mechanisms and political effects in relation to the urban PNA.

Keywords: protected natural areas (PNA), urban parks, environmental justice, socio-environmentalism, right to the city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

How to cite this article:  Fraga Fernandez, Annelise Caetano. «Cuando la belleza es la ciudad: áreas naturales protegidas en Río de Janeiro». Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, n.º 130 (abril de 2022), p. 139-163. DOI: doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2022.130.1.139

Revista CIDOB d’Afers Internacionals, n.º 130, p. 139-163
Quadrimestral (January-April 2022)
ISSN:1133-6595 | E-ISSN:2013-035X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24241/rcai.2022.130.1.139

Reception date: 15.10.21 ; Acceptance date: 21.01.22

>> The full text articles are available in Spanish language, although in this issue some of them are also available in English language.