Territorialidade e vulnerabilidade na ocupação das margens do Rio Pardo em Ibatiba E.S.

Abstract

This study analyzes how the relationship between humans and the environment influences the construction of territorial identity and the living conditions of the riverside population that inhabits the banks of the Pardo River, in the municipality of Ibatiba, Espírito Santo, in a context marked by the absence of integrated public policies and historical processes of socio-environmental marginalization. The research is based on a qualitative approach, combining a literature review with empirical data obtained through interviews with residents of the riverside areas. The study contextualizes the historical formation of the municipality and the dynamics of urban occupation on the banks of the river, highlighting the contradictions of the local modernization process, especially with regard to the precariousness of urban infrastructure, unequal access to basic services, and recurrent exposure to environmental risks. It also analyzes how the daily practices and experiences of residents produce an ambiguous relationship with the river, which acts simultaneously as a structuring element of memory, belonging, and collective identity, and as a factor of social and environmental vulnerability. The results show that the marginalization of riverside populations is not the result of individual choices, but of an exclusionary model of urbanization that reinforces territorial inequalities and weakens identity bonds. It is concluded that overcoming this situation requires integrated public policies that are sensitive to local dynamics and capable of articulating urban planning, environmental management, and recognition of territorial identities as a condition for promoting socio-environmental justice and the right to the city.