Memory and urban policies in Rio de Janeiro (1960s and 1970s)

Abstract

The discussion regarding the appreciation of the downtown area of ​​Rio de Janeiro as urban environmental heritage gained momentum in the 1970’s, motivated by the tension caused by successive losses of significant and culturally valuable landmarks, and by the change in the conceptual canons of preservation as well as actions by preservation agencies at the federal and municipal levels. As part of the debate proposed by the Dossier The Construction of Memory in V!RUS Magazine, this article aims to understand the trajectory of social mobilizations around urban memory in the old capital of the country after the creation of the new capital, Brasilia. We are interested in exploring how the pre-existing urban sites of Old Rio were transformed from obstacles – in the initial moments after the change of the capital – into representations of identity value, leading to innovative policies for the appreciation of memory. The article addresses how the city’s master plans and urban transformation projects were intermingled with a sense of loss and the social construction of a past identity in the city after the capital moved to Brasilia. We discuss how, in the mid-1970’s, the Basic Urban Plan – also called PUB-Rio - enabled the protagonism of urban preexistence and memory, making urban preservation policies in Rio de Janeiro possible. Thereafter, the relations between past and future in urban management practices emerged. This article discusses the uses of the past in the city of Rio de Janeiro involving urban projects and cultural heritage actions in the 1960’s and 1970’s.