On documentary and the city urban reading and social transformation

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the debate on the urban reading concept, formulated from the systematization of practical experiences. Considering its extensive use, especially in urban studies, we offer a critical analysis that dialogues with several knowledge areas that cross it, particularly Cinema and Pedagogy. Initially, we propose to relate the concept to works by Paulo Freire, in which we find a crucial correspondence with the idea of reading the world (Freire, 1985). Such approximation highlights the transdisciplinary potential of the concept and the multiple possibilities related to understanding the term reading, especially the processes of reading the built environment. Seeking to elucidate ways of reading, we investigate the documentary film, exploring the know-how related to the audiovisual field as a means to observe, perceive, and interpret the city. Finally, the work approaches and analyzes the case of Filme de Rua, a Brazilian collective and a film of the same name, checking the limits and potential of these two examples for urban studies, especially within the field of Architecture and Urbanism.