Mapping urban change. The adaptive capacity of coastal fishing villages: The Algarve (Portugal) and Paraná (Brazil). (original) (raw)

Mapping urban change. The adaptive capacity of coastal fishing villages: The Algarve (Portugal) and Paraná (Brazil) 137:1 Mapping urban change. The adaptive capacity of coastal fishing villages: The Algarve (Portugal) and Paraná (Brazil) Abstract " Sun & beach " tourism is often mentioned as one of the main generators of economic growth for coastal regions. Yet, to what extent is it possible to stimulate the adaptive capacity of the urban territory in order to promote and foster successful " sun & beach " tourism? This paper looks at new approaches to tourism development that are designed to preserve local identity, available natural resources and the socio-cultural heritage while reinvigorating the local economy and stimulating competitiveness. This implies a reconfiguration of urban planning strategies in order to support change, and it is argued here that improving the urban fabric and the tourism performance of coastal settlements requires, per se, a suitable application of space syntax methodologies, as well as an analysis combined with other morphological research methods. The paper seeks to assess the effects of the industrialisation and massification of leisure activities and the impact of tourism input on four coastal fishing villages along two shorelines of the Atlantic Ocean: the Algarve coast (Portugal) and the Paraná coast (Brazil). Both regions were confronted with an unprecedented interest from the tourist industry, which led to an expansion of the built-up fabric and the road network, changing the relationship between the shoreline and the urban settlement. The lack of planning strategies has resulted in undesired impacts and has disrupted the biophysical and social systems of these habitats, with negative impacts that can be extremely costly for both the environment and society. Different research methods were tested in the study of a sample composed of four coastal fishing settlements, using spatial analysis techniques related to space syntax theory (Carmona, 2014). Selected space syntax tools included axiality techniques, explored on two levels: the global analysis (the pattern of the relationship between the original/vernacular fishing nucleus and the whole settlement), and the local one (the size, scale and shape of the fishing nucleus). In loco surveys (observations and data collection) were also undertaken in order to identify the main physiographical characteristics and occupancy rates and to categorise the coastal front in three subsections according to the ecosystem type. The results relating to spatial configuration indicated that: i) the two coasts have different structures as far as their geo-morphological and anthropogenic aspects are concerned: the Algarve coast has a "comb-like" linear structure, while the Paraná coast is organised in a "trident" shape; ii) the proximity between the integration core and the shoreline varies according to the urban network typology: two coastal fishing settlements present an integration core close to the shoreline, while the other ones

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