The Social and Urbanistic Effects of Tourism Developments in Fortaleza, Brazil

Abstract

Nowadays, leisure activities, including summer vacations (through second residences) and tourism, have dynamized the occupation of the metropolitan coast in the Northeast of Brazil. The planning of these spaces pervades the public and private dimensions, and the logic of the production of space is defined by the emphasis on a technical-urbanistic approach. This article aims to understand the threads of this planning, focusing on the northeast metropolitan region of Fortaleza, in the State of Ceará. In order to do so, both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to obtain and process data and information: interviews, consultation of technical documents, and fieldwork. As a result, we concluded that the technical planning by entrepreneurs and the position of local governments point to the consolidation of spatial fragmentation in the coastal urban fabric. This situation is linked to the articulates with the promotion of urbanistic models, which value the use of private space to the detriment of public space.