Different urban models, different spaces and the same city

morphological analysis of open spaces in two urban settlements in Uberlândia-MG

Abstract

The article presents an analysis of different morphological patterns of urban open spaces in the city of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. The article presents a comparative-analytical study of two urban projects, a Minha Casa Minha Vida subdivision, the Residencial Pequis, and a neighborhood planned by a business group, the Granja Marileusa. The research started from the premise that, in medium-sized cities, the open spaces produced by the new subdivisions form subsystems, with different categories and distinct systemic patterns. Thus, the configuration and materialization of open spaces of two antagonistic models was analyzed, one aimed at the low-income population, which follows the pattern of many Minha Casa Minha Vida program projects, and the other based on the principles of the new urbanism, aimed at the middle and high-income population. The methodology used was the morphological reading based on three tools: quantitative and qualitative, through the morphological elements provided for by urban legislation; categorization of urban open spaces subsystems, through their insertion in the urban fabric and the characteristics of use and occupation; and analysis of the distribution of the morphological elements of the subdivisions. As a result, it was noticed that open spaces are designed differently in each situation and therefore have different degrees of importance and urban quality, however, they tend to form their own subsystems with potential for use and appropriation.