Physical and social impacts by old mining activities in Ouro Preto, Brazil

Abstract

The historical city of Ouro Preto appeared and it grew under starting from the discovery of the gold in the beginning of the century XVII. The extraction of gold in the alluvia, underground works and open pit mining activities promoted intense alteration in the morphology of the landscape during the centuries XVII and XVIII. The retaking of the growth in the century XX, starting from the fifties and the shortage of more appropriate areas for the urbanization together with the Jack of planning of the occupation of the environment, drove the city expanding towards the areas mined in the past. As result, countless and diversified problems affect these places now. ln this article, these human interventions in he landscape are approached and their consequences are analysed in such a way that the actual situation and the existent problems may be seen in a historical perspective. Some typical problems are presented and the physical and social impacts of this process are focused.