Urban municipal parks in Dourados – MS – Brazil: the state of the art

Abstract

The urban environmental conditions are an increasing concern in several segments of civil society and the urban parks are part of this context. However, discussions about urban parks are less emphatic when compared to the prominence given to other environmental problems. This study sought to report the real situation of the three main urban environmental parks in the municipality of Dourados/MS, presenting their current state of conservation and maintenance and the main management actions that have been taken since the creation of each park. The main goal of this study was to identify the situation of these parks to propose measures that will help their conservation. The methodology consisted of the bibliographical survey, which reinforced the importance of green areas in urban spaces, a detailed field survey in the parks, as well as the study of documents that broached these parks. It was possible to verify that the parks have grave environmental problems and they are at risk due to poor conservation. Furthermore, the population starts to feel the social impact of abandoned urban green areas, besides the environmental effects. It was noted that the punctual projects elaborated for the parks have not had the desired effects, given the difficulty of allocating resources and the existence of political barriers. To that end, the elaboration of management plans for the parks was recommended, besides a detailed study about the management model that has been developed in these areas.