Doctoral Thesis
This research focuses on the Morphology of the Landscape and aims to investigate and map the effects and affects of the transformations that have occurred in the twin cities along the Brazil–Uruguay border, in order to understand the controversies, conflicts, and their impacts on the management and planning of this binational territory. The three main theoretical-practical frameworks that underpin this thesis are: (1) Decolonial Studies; (2) Actor-Network Theory (ANT); and (3) the Transformation of Morphology. The spatial focus selects cities with higher urban density, distinguished by their spatial configuration in relation to the political-territorial boundary: a dry border (Santana do Livramento-Rivera) and a wet border (Jaguarão-Rio Branco). The temporal focus encompasses the research conducted in these cities from the 2018 trip (master's) to 2023 (doctoral), over a period of five years. This is an exploratory and compositional research, with a qualitative approach. The methodological strategies include case studies, controversy mapping, and the analysis of morphological transformation, complemented by literature review, documentary research, landscape reading, urban caminography, and cartographic management interviews. From this transdisciplinary approach, the term paisagera is proposed, which constitutes a decolonial and critical way of apprehending the landscape of the South American border, transcending Eurocentric notions and proposing a sensitive epistemology that reveals the mixed, controversial, and resistant layers inscribed in these places. Morphological and sensitive studies show that, despite bureaucratic barriers, territorial inequalities, and asymmetric legislation between the two countries, creative urban practices, innovative appropriations, and transformation processes emerge, driven by both human and non-human agents. As a theoretical and methodological contribution, the research broadens the understanding of landscape as a field of symbolic and material dispute, proposing new pathways for urban analysis in border territories. The thesis values local knowledge and reinforces the importance of approaches that consider the multiple layers of border experience as fundamental elements in the construction of urban space.
THESIS LINK
Date: 06/06/2025
Person
- Doriane Azevedo
- Alex Assunção Lamounier
- Andrea Queiroz da Silva Fonseca Rego
- Eduardo Rocha
- Lorena Maia Resende [author]
- Paulo Afonso Rheingantz [coordinator]
- Vera Regina Tângari [contributor]
ResearchLine
- Culture, Landscape and Built Environment
Course
- Doctor of Architecture PROARQ