Florianópolis, capital anti-ecológica

Abstract

The island of Santa Catarina constitutes the most expressive portion of the municipal district of Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina State. It has been published systematically by the media that Florianópolis is a place that propitiates a high life quality to their inhabitants associated with a preserved environment. This kind of idea has encouraged groups of interests that seek for short-term profits by doing businesses in the island. And, it also contributes to the formation of acommon sense stereotype in values and practices that deserve to be unmasked scientifically. Ananalys is through the perspective of ecological economy is capable of that. Ecological economy is the branch of the economics science that analyzes the social relationships starting from the consideration of the physical flows of energy and materials. And this principle, basically,distinguishes it from other areas of economics sucha s political economy that bases its analyzes in a monetary, economical value, and prices view. In the present paper we intend to establish the main points or reference tenros for an economical-ecological analysis of the effective conditions and tendencies in the Island of Santa Catarina. Taking into account some empirical evidences, we argue in the direction of a work hypothesis that, inreality,contradicts predominant visions. The recent evolution and tendencies observed empirically would demonstrate that Florianópolis, in fact, is an anti-ecological capital. This approach can also be useful to guide social and environmental researches in other urban centers. KEYWORDS: Ecological economy; Urban ecology; Florianópolis