Miguel Aloysio Sattler

Vantagens e desvantagens da utilização de peles-verdes em edificações residenciais em Porto Alegre segundo seus moradores

Green walls (climbing plants that cover the facades of a building, walls or any other vertical elements) is a technique that produces low environmental impact and brings benefits to the building and its surroundings. This study analyzes green walls found in residential buildings in Porto Alegre, considering the perception of their dwellers, aiming to produce a record of the use of this technique, and to point out its main advantages and disadvantages. The research methodology used was a series of in-depth interviews, in which a structured questionnaire was applied to dwellers of 38 buildings (comprised of one or more housing units) covered by green walls. The analyzed green walls are self-clinging climbers, of the species Ficus pumila and Parthenocissus tricuspidata. The dwellers confirmed, as main advantages of the technique, the aesthetic improvement of the landscape, the integration between urban environment and nature and also the positive effects on the wellbeing of humans and on the internal temperatures of the building. The main disadvantage cited was the necessary maintenance work. Therefore, this study suggests that green wall is a technique that has the potential of improving the urban environment, and, for that reason, further studies on this type of covering are recommended.

Aircraft Noise Perception and Annoyance at Schools near Salgado Filho International Airport, Brazil

This article presents results of an evaluation of aircraft noise perception and annoyance in schools located in the vicinity of Salgado Filho International Airport, in the city of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. This research is based on indoor and outdoor acoustic measurements, in addition to questionnaires in three schools. The results indicate problems in school performance, resulting from frequent interruption of classroom communication associated with high noise levels. The research also indicates that children aged between 11 and 13 years form the most vulnerable group.

Urban metabolism and food flows: the municipality ofFeliz, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Current food production, distribution and consumption patterns have been a central theme to the international debate on sustainable development. This theme is intrinsically linked to researches in the fields of urban agriculture and sustainable territorial planning. Examining this issue in the Brazilian context, it is crucial to understand the above-mentioned patterns when taking place in small municipalities that play a central role in the Brazilian system of food supply, at the same time that suffer the environmental impacts generated by such production. These relationships, if better understood, may help to guide these municipalities towards a more sustainable territorial planning. With basis on such understanding, this paper objective is to analyze the food flows in the municipality of Feliz, in the State of RS, adopted as a research case study, and their environmental implications. Studies aimed at understanding the relationship between resource flows and environment impacts are usually conducted with the aid of the concept of urban metabolism and use the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method, which was adopted in the research. Data gathering and processing required the development of specific procedures, suitable for the data format available in the Brazilian context, which were obtained from statistical and local sources and locally available electronically issued invoices. Some main results can be highlighted: (a) the quantification of one-year food flows in the municipality; (b) the identification of food production and consumption patterns and (c) the analysis of the related environmental impacts associated to contamination and waste generation.