The case of the viaduct over Bela Street , in Rio de Janeiro, and the contributions for the studies of intra-urban health-disease

This present proposition introduces a intra-urban case study on the relationship between the opening of an expressway and its consequences on health and environment. To describe and analyze the context, the relationships and... [ view full abstract ]

This present proposition introduces a intra-urban case study on the relationship between the opening of an expressway and its consequences on health and environment. To describe and analyze the context, the relationships and perceptions related to the object, quantitative and qualitative data were co-related, these collected from field work, theoric research and empiric originals.
In 1981, Bela Street, located at the neighborhood of São Cristóvão, in Rio de Janeiro, a relevant social, economic, historic and cultural urban complex, was covered by a viaduct. Proclaimed as a legacy in mobility at the United Nations Conference on the environment and development (ECO-92), ironically, began to expose their habitants to risks associated to the vicinity of a heavy traffic and hight speed arterial road, which reflexes are of great importance for understanding of the process on urban health-disease. The extreme place's conditions, as well as the two decades of impact, motivated the decision for this present study.
The construction of expressways over constituted urban tissue was planned based on the road logic practiced in Brazil since the beginning of the XXth century. Historically, the city of Rio, Brazilian “post card”, has been receiving major public investments for the realization of international events, attracting external and political capital gains. Such investments are concentrated on constructions, causing deep urban transformations. To adapt itself, the “carioca” population, once more, is being victimized by inequities. Thinking about the experience of Rio de Janeiro, and of Bela Street, is fundamental in order to have a critical view on this so “legacy” of major events on urban health. In the case of the Rio-2016 Olympic Games, 150 km of new expressways are being built. Understand the urban processes, its social representations and reflexes on health, are fundamental constitutive elements for the decision making on planning healthy public politics.