A percepção de diferentes grupos de usuários sobre a A Copa do Mundo de 2014: a questão das remoções na cidade de Porto Alegre/RS

This research addresses issues related to the forced displacement of families resulting from infrastructure works carried out to prepare Brazilian host cities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Its main objective is to investigate the perceptions of different user groups regarding the mega-event, analysing diverse perspectives on its impacts. The study adopts the city of Porto Alegre (RS) as a case study, as—like other host cities—it received significant investments to accommodate the event, which triggered forced displacements in various areas of the city. Porto Alegre ranks as the third city in Brazil with the highest number of displacements, following São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, whose higher figures are largely explained by their larger populations. When compared with Curitiba (PR)—also a host city representing the southern region—Porto Alegre recorded five times more displaced people as a result of the mega-event. The duplication of Avenida Tronco was selected as the main object of study, as this project was presented by the Porto Alegre City Council as a flagship intervention due to the inclusion of a social programme. Data collection was carried out in two stages: (i) archival research and (ii) fieldwork. The first stage provided information on the road project, supporting the design of the field research. The second stage comprised field observations, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, and drawings. These methods were applied to different user groups: those who were directly affected by the displacement process and those who were not. The study aims to contribute theoretical and empirical insights to inform future mega-events, highlighting the need for greater attention to displacement processes, which should be conducted without violating human rights.