Shared landscapes: perceptions of urban springs in a municipality in the Southern Amazon.
Socio-environmental perception. Ecosystem services. Social participation. Urban environmental management. Environmental conservation.
Urban springs represent fundamental elements for environmental balance in cities, as they perform ecological, climatic, and social functions that directly impact the population’s quality of life, making it essential to understand how these environments are perceived by the community in order to strengthen conservation strategies and participatory environmental management. This study aimed to understand the community’s perception of the urban springs located in the Parque dos Pioneiros Ludovico da Riva Neto, in Alta Floresta – MT, Brazil. It was based on the assumption that proximity to these environments could influence how residents recognize their environmental benefits, as well as their relationship with the space. The study sought to analyze the community’s perception of the ecosystem services provided by the springs, identify opinions regarding possible environmental impacts, verify the relationship between residential distance and the respondents’ perceptions, and construct a scenario of local environmental perception. To this end, a qualitative approach was adopted, involving semi-structured interviews with 12 residents living at different distances from the park, selected through convenience sampling. The data were analyzed using content analysis, with the inductive construction of thematic categories. The results showed that residents’ perceptions were strongly associated with everyday experiences and the use of the space, highlighting benefits such as thermal comfort, presence of vegetation, sense of well-being, and environmental appreciation. It was observed that residential distance was not a determining factor in the variation of perceptions, indicating that the connection with the space was shaped more by lived experience than by geographic proximity. Furthermore, different understandings were identified regarding environmental impacts and the role of public authorities. It was concluded that community perception constitutes a central element for strengthening conservation actions and participatory management of urban springs.