Uma análise de acessibilidade sob a ótica da eqüidade: o caso da região metropolitana de Belém, Brasil

Belém sofreu processo semelhante a diversas cidades brasileiras, com a expulsão de parte da população para áreas de expansão com carência de infra-estrutura viária e, em geral, prejudicadas em termos de acessibilidade. Considerando que este processo atingiu de forma desigual aos diferentes segmentos da população, o objetivo deste trabalho é avaliar como se dá a distribuição de acessibilidade ao transporte para indivíduos de diferentes classes de renda e, a partir daí, analisar estratégias para assegurar a eqüidade na sua distribuição na Região Metropolitana de Belém (RMB). Com este fim, dois índices de acessibilidade foram calculados neste estudo a partir da aplicação de um Sistema de Informações Geográficas para transportes: um do tipo separação espacial média e outro do tipo gravitacional. Os valores de atratividade do último foram posteriormente alterados de forma a compor dois cenários de localização de pólos de comércio e serviços diferentes do atual. O estudo mostra que os cenários alternativos promoveram uma melhor distribuição da acessibilidade na RMB e que a seleção do melhor deles pode ser feita através de critérios de eqüidade. Demonstrou-se ainda que, após a seleção do melhor cenário, outros recursos do SIG podem ser utilizados para priorizar, também segundo a ótica da eqüidade, as zonas que ainda carecem de melhorias na acessibilidade.The growth process of Belém, similarly to what happened to other Brazilian cities, was characterized by the location of part of its population in areas with insufficient road infrastructure. Those were, in general, low accessibility areas. Considering that the impacts of the growth process were not evenly distributed to all population groups, the aim of this work is to evaluate the distribution patterns of transportation accessibility to different income groups in the Metropolitan Region of Belém. This is an important step towards the formulation of strategies to reestablish equity in the accessibility distribution. Two indexes have been used to estimate accessibility values in a Geographic Information System environment: a Mean Separation Index and a Gravity-type Index. The attractiveness values of the latter were then changed to create alternative scenarios in which the location of the retail and service areas was different from the current conditions. The results found in this study showed that: a) the alternative scenarios had a better transportation accessibility distribution than the present one; and b) the selection of the best alternative scenario could be based on equity criteria. Next, once again oriented by an equity criterion, other GIS tools were applied to select the areas in the chosen scenario in which transportation accessibility could be further improved

Implementing geometry-related environmental indicators in a 3d-gis

This paper highlights the suitability of applying a 3D GIS to analyze geometry-related environmental indicators. The work starts with a discussion and application of a tool developed to identify sky view factors. Called 3DSKYVIEW extension, this tool was produced as part of a research cooperation effort established between Brazil and Portugal to identify common urban environmental indicators for their medium sized cities. The sky view factor (SVF) is a parameter used to characterize radiation properties on urban areas and to express the relationship between the visible area of the sky and the portion of the sky covered by buildings viewed from a specific point of observation. The 3DSKYVIEW extension is an algorithm developed by applying the software ArcView GIS1 and its 3D Analyst extension, allowing an automatic delineation of the visible sky and obstructions. The implementation of this tool in a 3D GIS is useful because it allows straight and quick urban geometry analysis from several points of observation. Furthermore, it can be seen as a single environmental indicator of thermal, lighting and acoustical performance of urban areas, as suggested by the exploratory study conducted in a medium-sized Brazilian city and summarized in this paper

An analysis of energy consumption for transportation in Portuguese cities using artificial neural networks

Empirical studies carried out in several parts of the world have highlighted the existence of a strong relationship between the physical planning of cities and energy use for transportation. Despite the economic and environmental costs produced by urban sprawl, several countries have not yet started to study the phenomenon in order to better understand it and to somehow control it. Thus, this study tries to bring a contribution to the subject through an analysis of the situation found in some of the main Portuguese cities, which however do not include Lisbon and Oporto. The main objective of this work is to identify the variables related to physical aspects of the cities and socioeconomic characteristics of urbanized areas in Portugal that significantly influence energy consumption for transportation. After the spatial and socioeconomic data were comb ined in a single database, they were analyzed using Artificial Neural Network models, in order to identify variables that are relevant to energy consumption for transportation, along with their relative weights. The results found in the current study confirmed the trend observed in several countries worldwide, in which the characteristics of urban form and population distribution played an important role influencing energy use for transportation

A SDSS for integrated management of health and education facilities at the local level : challenges and opportunities in a developing country

The objective of this paper is to discuss challenges and opportunities met during the development of a SDSS (Spatial Decision Support System) for integrated management of health and education facilities at the local level in Brazil. The goal of the proposed system is to seek for an optimal arrangement of health and education facilities in medium-sized cities, in order to reduce both facilities construction costs and user's transportation costs that ought to be produced during a time span of two to four decades. Some of the operational difficulties observed during the early implementation steps of the proposed SDSS are discussed in this paper. Apparently, they can be relevant in the practical application of similar systems. The described experience also suggests that the implementation of systems like the one proposed here can be an opportunity to drive a change in the way that local governments in developing countries deal with planning

HEALTH ECONOMY: A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF WATER AND SANITARY WATER SERVICES IN THE COSTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE NORTHEAST REGION OF BRAZIL

Health services are characterized as meritorious goods, a type of semipublic good that, given its social character, the allocation of resources in these activities becomes socially desirable by the government so that they are allocated efficiently. One of the ways to control and reduce unnecessary health expenditures is the population\u27s access to basic sanitation services that, when inefficient, cause negative externalities to the exposed population. In this sense, the objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between coverage of basic sanitation services and the costs of hospital admissions for waterborne diseases in the Northeast Region of Brazil, from 2005 to 2015. In order to do so, we used secondary data from the Department of Informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System (DATASUS), the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) and Finance of Brazil (FINBRA) for the construction of panel regression models with fixed effects. The main results indicate that access to sanitation services, mainly from the sewage collection network, reduces the costs of hospitalizations for Diseases Related to Inadequate Environmental Sanitation (DRSAI) of the Unified Health System (SUS)

ANÁLISE AGRÁRIA DA MULTIFUNCIONALIDADE DA TERRA NA PROVÍNCIA DE ALICANTE – ESPANHA

A Espanha, com o fim da ditadura Franquista (1975), e a entrada na União Européia (UE) em 1986, passou a receber forte apoio financeiro (ajuda e subvenções), dos Fundos de Orientação e Garantia Agrária (FEOGA) e da Política Agrícola Comum (PAC). Estes investimentos tem tido uma importância capital na recente transformação dos espaços rurais espanhóis. No caso da Província de Alicante - Espanha, esta tem passado ao longo das últimas décadas, por intenso processo de alterações sócio-ambiental e territorial, tendo a água como principal aspecto de insustentabilidade ambiental dos sistemas produtivos (industriais e agrícolas), bem como os fortes investimentos nas áreas turísticas. Em relação a estrutura fundiária, na Província de Alicante predominam as pequenas propriedades rurais com cultivos de secano (amêndoas, oliva, uva para vinícola, etc.) e irrigados (hortaliças, citros, frutas, etc). Assim, a implantação das políticas agrícolas da União Européia no campo alicantino, através do conceito de multifuncionalidade rural, tem ocasionado aumento da concentração fundiária, empobrecimento e abandono dos pequenos e médios agricultores, aumento da concorrência com produtos externos, incentivos à especulação imobiliária, tendo o turismo como vetor principal

Slope Processes, Mass Movement and Soil Erosion: A Review

Soil erosion and land degradation are global problems and pose major issues in many countries. Both soil erosion and mass movement are two forms of land degradation and humans play important roles in these geomorphological processes. This paper reviews slope processes associated with mass movement and soil erosion and contributory factors, including physical and human agents. Acting together, these cause diverse geomorphological features. Slope processes are illustrated by reference to case studies from Brazil and UK. The causes and impacts of erosion are discussed, along with appropriate remedial bioengineering methods and the potential of the measures to prevent these types of environmental degradation. Although there are several agents of erosion, water is the most important one. Cultivation can promote soil erosion, due to ploughing and harvesting, which moves soil down slopes. Soil erosion and mass movement data would inform the viability of soil conservation practices. Integrated management of drainage basins offers a promising way forward for effective soil conservation and soil remedial bioengineering in Brazil and UK

A suplementação de creatina na melhoria do rendimento no treinamento resistido em indivíduos de meia idade e idosos aparentemente saudáveis – uma breve revisão sistemática de ensaios clínicos randomizados

A creatina, umas das substâncias envolvidas no sistema bioenergético, e sua suplementação são tema de vários relatos em diversas faixas etárias. No entanto, o uso deste recurso em indivíduos de meia-idade e idosos ainda são contraditórios na literatura. O objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar artigos de ensaios clínicos randomizados encontrados desde 2001 em bases de dados internacionais sobre o efeito da suplementação de creatina no treinamento resistido em indivíduos de meia-idade e idosos, bem como, propor possíveis direcionamentos para novas pesquisas sobre o tema. Foram selecionados nove de um total de 77 artigos encontrados nas bases PubMed, Science Direct e Web of Science. Após a análise dos estudos concluiu-se que a suplementação de creatina na faixa etária em estudo mostrou-se efetiva na melhora da capacidade de remodelação óssea, bem como, no retardamento da sarcopenia. No entanto, os resultados de possível aumento da massa e força muscular ainda são contraditórios sendo sugerido novos estudos com protocolos de treinamento, dosagens diferenciadas e controle dos horários da ingestão de creatina para a verificação de uma resultados mais concretos