O comércio da natureza: a construção do espaço no bairro de Vargem Grande, cidade do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

Vargem Grande, neighborhood located at the West zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, is perceived and consumed as one of the last rural areas in town. The neighborhood is established at the bottom of the Pedra Branca massif and, in this context, the image of Vargem Grande in the mind of the cariocas is one of a farmland, a space where peace and tranquility domain, where the main activities are connected to the country. The question that occurs regarding the urban development is the contradiction between the local outgrowth (and its progressive urbanization) and the presence of the “bucolic air”. The restaurants present there offer services which added value comes from the rural climate, and the presence of “nature”. The search for these establishments has grown along with the neighborhood and its urbanization. With such urbanization, it is probable that the green area will become rarer, despite the presence of the State Park of Pedra Branca. Departing from this, we intend to understand the contradictions inherant to the capitalist sistem and how, nowadays, the valorization of nature has become a way to obtain profit, surpassing one more contradiction and, at the same time, creating a new one.