THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS AND THE PRODUCTION OF SPATIAL INJUSTICE: RUA DIREITA NEIGHBOURHOOD IN TRÊS RIOS – RJ

Abstract

This article employs the social construction of environmental problems as a framework to discuss the presence of the solid waste landfill in the Rua Direita neighborhood in the municipality of Três Rios - RJ. The study aims to identify the primary environmental concerns of the residents in this neighborhood, which is a low-income district containing various potential environmental problems, including multiple industrial plants, the former municipal dump, and the new solid waste landfill. The study describes how the population interprets the spatiality of these environmental issues and evaluates the production of spatial injustice in the area. For this purpose, we conducted twelve semi-structured interviews with residents. The main environmental problem was the sanitary landfill. Interviewees identified the generation of leachate by the landfill as the leading environmental issue. They also mentioned that leachate exposes the population to various potential environmental harms. The locational decision to concentrate several polluting activities in the same neighborhood reveals the creation of a sacrifice zone within the municipality of Três Rios. The sanitary landfill thus emerges as a promoter of spatial and environmental injustice with the consent of the public authorities.