LANDSCAPE AS A POLITICAL RESOURCE IN URBAN CONFLICTS

The case of the Neighborhood Unit Restaurants (RUV) in Brasília-DF

Abstract

Currently, the landscape is linked to integrated and shared use among urban agents in the debate and formulation of public policies. In this context, the term landscape policy emerges when these agents mobilize the landscape through various narratives and conceptions to enhance their political capital. Thus, Brasília becomes an intriguing study object due to the high density of heritage valorizations that can be contested or reaffirmed through this concept, exemplified by the Restaurant of Neighborhood Unit Lots (RUVs), illustrating a dispute between residents and lot owners. The aim of this article is to analyze how arguments used by residents connect with a landscape conception that legitimizes their claim in urban space disputes, identifying landscape-related conceptions and narratives within their discourses. To achieve this, bibliographic research on Brasília and the study object was conducted, fieldwork was carried out, research was conducted on conflicts in local newspapers, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with residents and representatives from the Government of the Federal District (GDF) and the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN). For analysis, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) software Requalify. ai was employed. Results indicate that arguments associated with the landscape as a green aspect and local modernist identity predominate over technical or economic justifications. Additionally, the study demonstrated how economically advantaged groups also use the landscape as a political resource in their confrontations with the State.