Research Article
Landscape in Dispute: An Urban Ethnoconservation Approach at Senator Salgado Filho Square, RJ
Alda de Azevedo Ferreira*
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2026
Pages:
1-15
Received:
23 November 2025
Accepted:
20 July 2026
Published:
18 August 2026
Abstract: The management of cultural landscapes often faces challenges related to assigning values, ineffective monitoring, and institutional disarticulation, especially in dense urban World Heritage settings where community perspectives are rarely incorporated into formal conservation frameworks. This paper addresses these deficiencies by developing a conservation management policy for the cultural assets located in the Carioca Cultural Landscape World Heritage Site in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Taking Senator Salgado Filho Square, a site designed by Roberto Burle Marx, as a case study, the research employs an urban ethnoconservation approach, which is grounded in the Value-Based Conservation framework. The methodology involved historical research and the assignment of heritage values (historical, artistic, landscape, and scientific), followed by an inventory of multivocal sociocultural values through semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and ethnography, with data systematically coded and spatially represented through ethnotopographic mapping. This analysis revealed conflicting needs among diverse user groups—including vendors, vulnerable populations, women, and LGBTQIA+ communities—regarding safety, accessibility, and inclusion. Based on this reading, the study proposes an integrated conservation model. Key guidelines include establishing a Cultural Significance Statement, a risk management plan using the ABC Method, implementing multidimensional monitoring indicators (physical integrity, social use, environmental sustainability, and symbolic values), and strengthening participatory governance and sustainable economic financing. The policy emphasizes social inclusion, conflict mediation, and heritage education as cross-cutting pillars, ensuring that preservation efforts safeguard the material memory alongside the affective and social meanings of the place. Unlike prior ethnoconservation studies, typically applied to small-scale or rural settings, this research introduces a replicable, indicator-based model specifically designed for dense and socially contested urban World Heritage sites. This proposal offers a replicable model for preserving cultural landscapes in urban contexts, addressing governance gaps, and fostering a democratic relationship between citizens and their shared heritage.
Abstract: The management of cultural landscapes often faces challenges related to assigning values, ineffective monitoring, and institutional disarticulation, especially in dense urban World Heritage settings where community perspectives are rarely incorporated into formal conservation frameworks. This paper addresses these deficiencies by developing a conse...
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