Gentrificação x modernização: o processo de desenvolvimento da Curva da Jurema e a exclusão dos povos vulneráveis

Abstract

This study analyzes, from the perspective of Urban Law and critical theory, the urban transformation process that occurred at Curva da Jurema Beach, in Vitória Espirito Santo. The main objective is to demonstrate that the state intervention, justified by a discourse of revitalization and modernization, configured an exemplary case of gentrification enabled by public authorities. The methodology adopted is a case study, with a bibliographic and documentary review, based on the concepts of the Right to the City (Lefebvre), rent gap (Smith), and accumulation by dispossession (Harvey), articulated with the legal analysis of administrative acts. The results show that the Public Administration acted intentionally in two phases: first, through omission in infrastructure maintenance, generating strategic abandonment that produced the rent differential; and, subsequently, by direct action in restructuring the management of the waterfront. It is demonstrated that the block bidding model for the concession of and the principle of competitiveness, operating as a barrier to entry for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. It is concluded that the changes in the territory constitute a deviation of purpose, as the real objective was to alter the socioeconomic profile of the location, facilitating elitization and real estate speculation. This action disregarded the popular use-value of the territory in favor of its exchange-value, directly violating the fundamental right to leisure and the social function of the city.