Use and Appropriation of Public Space: A case study at Santos Dumont Square in Florianópolis (SC)

Abstract

Public spaces play an important role in promoting social interactions between different social agents. In this
context, it is important to evaluate appropriation in public spaces and identify the different forms that generate
diversity in them. Santos Dumont Square, the empirical object of this work, corresponds to a centrality of the
Trindade neighborhood in Florianópolis (SC) and is characterized by the diversity of uses in the surroundings.
The objective of the research is to carry out an analysis of the appropriation of this space, quantifying and
analyzing users and predominant activities. For this, the reading of co-presence (Gehl & Svarre, 2018;
Tenório, 2012) and the behavioral map (Sommer & Sommer, 1997) were used as a methodology. The results
show that flows are intense on the periphery of the square and are concentrated during business hours.
These results reflect the difficulties posed by the existing unevenness and the predominance of commercial
uses and services in the immediate surroundings.

Keywords: appropriation, public space, squares, copresence