Impactos de intervenções viárias urbanas nas condições socioeconômicas em bairros periféricos: estudo de caso do projeto meu bairro empreendedor – Fortaleza/CE

Abstract

Urban road interventions have been widely adopted as a strategy to improve mobility and public space, especially in peripheral neighborhoods marked by historical infrastructure deficits. In these areas, road insecurity, low accessibility, and the fragility of the local economy pose challenges that extend beyond the physical dimension. In this context, it becomes fundamental to understand which road interventions contribute to improving socioeconomic conditions, promoting safety, active mobility, and strengthening the local urban dynamic. This study proposes to analyze the impacts of urban road interventions on the socioeconomic conditions of peripheral neighborhoods, based on an analysis of the "Meu Bairro Empreendedor" (My Entrepreneurial Neighborhood) project in Fortaleza/CE, focusing on road safety and the requalification of public and economic space. To this end, the methodology was based on a qualitative, descriptive approach, grounded in the documentary analysis of data from the Vida Platform and institutional documents from the Fortaleza City Hall, as well as the application of interviews with local merchants, allowing for a comparison between the pre- and post revitalization periods of the project in the Prefeito José Walter neighborhood. Thus, the results obtained show that the road interventions have high social and urban relevance, promoting significant improvements in road safety, reflected in the reduction and, in some places, the elimination of traffic accidents, especially those involving vulnerable users. The strengthening of active mobility was observed, with pedestrians assuming a central role in the urban space, favored by the improvement of sidewalks, improved crossings, and increased accessibility. Furthermore, the greater circulation of people and the requalification of the urban space positively impacted, albeit heterogeneously, the local socioeconomic dynamics, especially benefiting micro and small businesses. Therefore, based on the results obtained, it can be observed that these transformations contributed to the creation of safer and more welcoming urban environments, stimulating coexistence, strengthening the feeling of belonging and the appropriation of public space by the population, in addition to promoting the revitalization of previously degraded and underutilized areas