A casa e o parque: a relação entre os moradores da "comunidade" do Horto e o "Jardim Botânico"

Abstract

Community residents of the Horto Forest, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, are being threatened to be removed from their houses since 1980, when the management of the Botanical Gardens of Rio de Janeiro Research Institute filed for repossession. Most of the residents either worked or are related to former workers of the Institute and other ventures that were there settled. At the time of the occupation of the area, the residents were invited to live closer to work, since the public transportation was so precarious. The management of the Institute, in accordance with the federal government, demands that the repossession of the residents in order to increase the park's size, supporting arguments as "preservation" of a "commonweal". On the other side, the residents emphasize the timeless characteristic of the community claiming their families have historic memories of the neighborhood since before the occupation process. Listening to the resident's stories, it was possible to have different points of views of the area, taking us back to a past where the relationship between residents and the "Jardim Botanico" was a lot different.