Public authority and railway heritage in the midwest of Santa Catarina: the case of Videira

Abstract

Railway heritage is an important historical testimony of the economic development and urbanization process in Brazil, supporting the collective memory of many communities. Several levels of the public government manage most railroads legacy and have the power to intervene in its conservation, thus, their decisions have a direct impact on the construction of urban memory in many places. This study aimed to investigate the municipal government actions regarding the management and preservation of the railway heritage, taking as study place the city of Videira, in Santa Catarina State regarding the old São Paulo - Rio Grande Railway (EFSP-RG). We explored issues as the interaction between local public authority and higher political levels, conservation status, new uses and the ways in which the railway heritage has been inserted in the socioeconomic dynamics of the city, as well as the impact of private interests in the preservation of these buildings. We noticed that in the last decades there has been neither an open decision-making process to popular participation, nor an overall view of these buildings conservation. Nowadays we have perceived actions that aim to reintegrate the remaining railway heritage to the urban dynamics, making it necessary to investigate in which extent these initiatives contribute to the valorization of the railway memory.