The aim of this study is to understand, in an interdisciplinary perspective, from the
standpoint of the urban sustainability and of the citizenship, the abandonment and
further accumulation of garbage (solid residues) in the public spaces of downtown
Palmas, making it possible to comprehend its gradual incorporation and downgrading
in the urban scenery of the cited city. The proposed issue brings out the current
situation of the growing garbage buildup in the capital of Tocantins, discussing the
socioenvironmental impacts, from sanitary themes and public health to aesthetics
motions and those of territorial identification. In this sense, concerning the production
and the disposal of garbage in the public spaces, the following questions come to
light and defined the problematic rendered themes of this dissertation: Is there, in
Palmas, a situation of mere inattention to the collective living environment? Or, in
another overview, there must be problems of the inhabitant-place relationship, above
all concerning the difficulty encountered by the population in establishing a bond of
belonging strong enough to make them seek for actions that could solve the problem
and achieve a better urban environment? Thus, this research had as its theoretical
assumption an interdisciplinary approach, taking into account some aspects related
to architecture, urbanism, geography, and sociology, among others. This study was
preceeded by a bibliographical survey for the theoretical basis about the topic,
followed by a documental analysis in public city organizations, though which a survey
for quantitative data was carried out. In sequence, the second part of the research
was composed by the field work in different times of the year, considering the
local season (rain and drought). At this stage, there were used the direct and
participant observation techniques, followed by a photographic record of the main
public spaces or venues situated in the scope area of the central core of the city:
Juscelino Kubitscheck Avenue, Girassóis Square, Joaquim Teotônio Segurado
Avenue and the Cultural Space. The final phase consisted of a case study
investigation at the Quadra 304 Sul open market that lasted for three months, in
randomly monitored periods. At that moment, there were used the direct observation
together with a photographic record and the participant observation technique,
assuming in the latter, the interaction between researcher and researched.
Simultaneously, the Collective Subject Discourse Technique (CSD) was applied,
through semi-structured interviews. With regard to the verifications obtained in this
research, it was observed that the negligent action towards the collective living
environment embodies all the parties involved in the urban dynamics of the cited city,
be them linked to the City Administration, to the commercial and provision of services
institutions and to the citizens who consume the services delivered in that space.
There was evidence, in that case, that a shortfall in the conjugation of a sense of
belonging, associated to the inexistence of a city territorial identity brought on some
deficiencies towards the sharing of the citizenship notion. Consequently, the garbage
in the public spaces in downtown Palmas, presents itself as a trivial problem that is
still in the scene.
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