Urban space occupation: historical observations and the expansion of the Península da Ponta D’areia in São Luís (MA) between the years 2004 and 2016

Abstract

This work objective to make reflections (on / about) the evolution of soil occupation in the Peninsula Ponta D’areia region, on the São Luís island of Maranhão between the years 2004 and 2016. Initially this area was occupied by colonies of fishermen, who transported people from the center of the city to the beaches, and after the construction of José Sarney bridge (1970), began the process of urbanization and modifications of the natural landscape through the removal of dunes and vegetation. The analysis of this work began in the year 2004, when the Peninsula began to receive large investments in the real estate sector through the construction of large residential condominiums of high standard, transforming the local landscape. For the beginning of the analyzes, historical information was obtained from the Península da Ponta D'areia region in São Luís. The images of the region were selected by Google Earth Pro software for the years 2004, 2010 and 2016, which were georeferenced, rasterized and vectorized by creating polygons manually, delimiting and quantifying areas of vegetation, exposed soil and urbanized area. These vector data generated in the mapping were analyzed and classified in a GIS environment, making the evolution of the occupation by image of the analyzed years, allowing the reflection on how the performance of large investments (succeeded) transformed in a decade a noble region of the city of São Luís.