Revitalização e Morte da Civilidade Urbana: Entre a Cidade que não se Garante e os Engajamentos que Favorece

Abstract

This article analyzes the data collected over seven years of observation of ethnographic inspiration of community intervention practices in the public space of the center of  Vitória, capital of the State of Espírito Santo. Going back to the recent history of the neighborhood, there is an emergence of new parameters for the normalization of the place that affect state interventions and community engagement in rehabilitation initiatives of the region. Focusing on the controversies about the definition of public problems in the neighborhood, we will seek to understand the limits to popular participation in a liberal political and economic context, the intensification of internal disputes among residents, over time, as well as the ineffectiveness of a management of space focused exclusively on the objective of making it a reality as a simulacrum of local history and culture, to the detriment of a lived neighborhood, where a plurality of common good ideals coexist.