Questions in the production of vertical living and the public space

a look at the Marista Sector in Goiânia

Abstract

In contemporary times, we witness the dissemination of certain urban phenomena that have significant implications for public space, resulting in its instrumentalization, the reduction of social interactions, and the depreciation of its value. In this context, the current increase in residential vertical urbanism, driven by what the real estate market constantly labels as «new ways of living,» has shown visible impacts on the city and on the urban phenomenon. This is not only because it offers «exclusivities» within the walls to the residents, but also because it influences the ways public space and the city are used and appropriated, reconfiguring, to varying degrees, socio-spatial practices and social interactions. The aim of this article is to analyze some of these implications through the strategies and tactics adopted by real estate companies that promote the «new ways of living» in the Marista sector of Goiânia. Using field research methods, combined with a literature review, it was possible to identify the production of «privatized spatialities» linked to certain appropriations resulting from verticalization processes and the sale of new housing typologies, challenging the concept of public space and contributing to the reduction of urban life.