Catástrofes sociambientais de 2022, em Petrópolis: como os alunos do Primeiro Distrito convivem com as mudanças na paisagem

Abstract

This study analyzes the changes in the landscape of Petrópolis after the socioenvironmental disasters of 2022, focusing on the social perception of elementary school students studying in schools in the first district of Petrópolis. In February and March 2022, the city was hit by heavy rains, which resulted in mass movements and floods that caused significant changes in the urban landscape, especially the marks left on the hillsides. These events resulted in 242 deaths, approximately 4,000 homeless people, and significant changes in the landscape. Based on the perspectives of Milton Santos, who defines the landscape as the domain of the visible, and Roberto Lobato Corrêa, who highlights the relationship between landscape, memory, and perception, the research sought to understand how young people experience the marks left by the events. Initially, we sought to reconstruct the history of socioenvironmental disasters in the first district of Petrópolis. Later, during fieldwork, we visited some areas of the city where the landscapes had changed as a result of the extreme events of 2022. Finally, through questionnaires administered to 220 students from public and private schools located in the first district, we verified how students perceive, elaborate and attribute meaning to the altered landscapes. The data collected allow us to conclude that: marks on the slopes are the most perceived type of change; that the altered landscapes evoke feelings such as fear and sadness in students; that the school contributes little to the debate about the socio-environmental risks experienced in Petrópolis; and that even the measures taken by the City Hall to reduce the social and economic damage of new events are largely unknown to students.