The agro-environmental park as a new category of systems of open spaces

Abstract

This article studies systems of open spaces and the contemporary urbanization of the municipality of Limeira, which belongs to the Campinas Administrative Region, in the state of São Paulo. We devote our attention to “regional contemporary parks”, which have also been called “agro-environmental parks”. While they do not represent a simple solution, they are a new possibility of thinking and acting. Through these types of parks, we can adjust our focus in the direction of local needs, and search for coherent mechanisms to act locally. Differently than other areas, also endowed with important natural assets, such as the São Paulo Metropolitan Region, this concept of park focuses on areas that are economically and socially uniform and which have been almost stripped of their flora and fauna due to intensive farming activity. The challenge we faced here is to promote a political discussion on regional contemporary parks as a way to meet social and environmental needs. This could include leisure, sports or other cultural activities that brings a regional focus, farming or forestry activities, or the conservation of ecosystems, which would define different levels of intervention and accessibility to the places as a whole. The concept of “agro-environmental park” is proposed as a tool for regional and environmental planning.