Resumo

KUHNEN, Ariane  e  SILVEIRA, Scheila Machado da. How children understand, idealize and realize the place where they live. Psicol. USP [online]. 2008, vol.19, n.3, pp. 295-316. ISSN 1678-5177.

This article presents results of two co-related projects, one based on research and the other one of university extension. The objective is to understand the contexts of spatial and temporal appropriation of place and its implications on the citizens. The subjects are children living in a peripheral region of Florianópolis, in Santa Catarina. Diverse methods of research and intervention are used in the two projects. Amongst them are: field immersion, free and participant observation, directed interviews, strolls, playful activities, drawings and photographs. The methodology proves to be an important way to apprehend the reality, since they demonstrate perceptions and significances of the citizens. The theoretical sources that base the intervention and the analysis are primordially derived environmental psychology. Furthermore, the data was analyzed qualitatively. The results demonstrate that these citizens identify themselves with their community, however in relation to the other places of the city the phenomenon of “ghettofication” was verified and consequently they are unaware of the city beyond the limits of their neighborhood. The reflection of this limitation of and in the spaces of the city in the constitution of citizens was studied.

Palavras-chave : Child; Appropriation; City; Poverty; Environment.