Lagoons for whom?

A study on some features of contemporary urbanization in the municipality of Osório (RS)

Abstract

This article is based on an in-progress research project that seeks to analyze the urban, socio-environmental, and economic implications of the expansion of gated horizontal condominiums around the lagoons in the municipality of Osório (RS), Brazil. The study starts from the problematization of urban growth in environmentally sensitive areas, marked by the commodification of nature and real estate appreciation at the expense of common goods. Grounded in the works of authors such as Milton Santos, Henri Lefebvre, and David Harvey, the research proposes a critical reflection on the impacts of urban space production on territorial configuration. It draws on key concepts such as landscape, the urban, and the commodification of nature, aiming to understand the processes that transform fragile ecosystems into market assets. The growth of gated communities in Osório, which intensified after 2010, reveals an exclusionary development model, based on discourses of progress but disconnected from social and environmental realities. Although these developments attract investment, they deepen urban fragmentation, socio-spatial exclusion, and environmental degradation, affecting traditional land uses and local ways of life. This study contributes to the debate on territorial justice, the right to the city, and alternative forms of urbanization that are more equitable and environmentally responsible, reaffirming the importance of public policies that reconcile urban development with environmental protection and social inclusion.