Identidade e memória: o olhar dos moradores e frequentadores frente ao centro histórico de Natal/RN

Abstract

The historical center of a city is configured as the first urban nucleus of occupation of a given locality, therefore being the spaces that went through a process of decline of its activities over time, leaving to these environments the function of telling, retelling and keeping alive the memory of the cities. The historic center of Natal, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, is composed of an architectural circuit composed of the districts of Cidade Alta and Ribeira, even if it is constituted as a cultural heritage it is noticeable that the space goes unnoticed in the city's daily life. Therefore, the present work has as its main objective to identify how the residents and visitors observe the historic center of the city of Natal, which spaces compose the historic center and what are the main problems found in these spaces. In order to reach the proposed objectives, bibliographic and documental researches were carried out, as well as in loco visits to identify and map the spaces that make up the historic area of the city, and the elaboration and application of a questionnaire that aimed to understand how the historic center is observed from the point of view of the residents and frequenters of the region. With the results obtained it was possible to understand how the historic center is constituted, as well as the points that integrate it, through the field visits it was possible to realize that the buildings and monuments that are inserted in the space go through a process of abandonment by the government, causing social problems for this area as lack of structure and insecurity, factors that repel the very population to feel comfortable to frequent these spaces, that the residents and frequenters identify and understand the importance of this space for the history of the city.