Áreas verdes urbanas: distribuição espacial da cobertura vegetal nos bairros da Zona Sul de Teresina-PI

Abstract

As a result of the accelerated and disorderly growth of cities, the natural environment has undergone significant changes, with man as the main agent modifying the urban landscape, these changes are important for the development of the environment in order to meet its current needs, however, However, it is essential that the process of city expansion is aligned with appropriate urban planning that aims to balance the natural environment and the transformed environment, avoiding urban socio-environmental problems, among which is the degradation, suppression and loss of urban green areas, these areas being an extremely important environmental resource for promoting environmental quality of life in the city space. With this in mind, the aim of this study was to analyze the spatial distribution of vegetation cover in neighborhoods in the southern zone of the city of Teresina-Pi. The methodology comprised basic research with a qualitative-quantitative approach and of an exploratory nature, based on a literature review, a case study, mapping and a field survey. For the mapping, images from the CBERS-4A satellite made available by the Space Research Institute (INPE) were used to calculate the percentage of vegetation in each neighbourhood by calculating the NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) by neighbourhood in order to carry out a quantitative analysis of the vegetation cover. In order to verify the quality of the green areas, on-site visits were made to identify these areas to see what type of green area is contributing to the percentage of vegetation in the neighborhoods. The results show that the southern zone has less than 50% original vegetation cover, with the oldest neighborhoods having the least vegetated soil, compared to the more recent neighborhoods whose urban expansion process is still underway. As the southern zone is occupied, there is a decrease in vegetated soil, which is giving way to waterproofed soil, the artificial environment suppressing the natural environment. Since urban afforestation is an extremely important component for promoting environmental quality in the intra-urban environment, it provides a series of services. In view of this, it is clear that public policies should be encouraged to integrate urban planning with environmental preservation, with a view to creating reafforestation projects and maintaining or preserving existing green areas.