Urban transformations in Juiz de Fora/MG: the Barão do Rio Branco avenue and the city’s history

Abstract

The relationship between cities and the means of locomotion within it directly influences the characteristics of urban space over the years of its formation. In this sense, this article aims to present the interventions occurred in the space/time in Juiz de Fora/MG, especially those related to Barão do Rio Branco Avenue, street with more than 6Km of extension that cuts through the inner city, as potential evidence of facts and changes experienced by the city. In order to do so, we address questions about the design and characteristics of the roads as conformers of the urban space, presenting documents that record, from the origin of the municipality, the formation, transformations and interventions that have taken place in this avenue since 1836. The main events were organized chronologically and analyzed with the urban approach, verifying that most of these interventions are related to the road structure of the central area of the city, especially since the 1970s, when the demand for urban transport was intensified. The need of interventions on the avenue as a reflection of the urbanization process and its changing needs, confirm the importance of this pathway in the development of the urban center of the city.