PATRIMONIO Y AGRICULTURA URBANA EN RECIFE. ANÁLISIS Y DIRECTRICES PARA EL BARRIO DE VÁRZEA = HERITAGE AND URBAN AGRICULTURE IN RECIFE: ANALYSIS AND GUIDELINES FOR THE VARZEA NEIGHBORHOOD

Urban agricultural heritage is abandoned and/or not enhanced in many cities of South America. As a wide European research has demonstrated (COST Action - Urban Agriculture Europe, 2011-16), cultural dimension has a significant role in urban agriculture and the enhancement of tangible and intangible rural heritage in the urban context can be an opportunity to reinforce the identity of people and their quality of life, as stated by the European Landscape Convention (2000). The article applies the principles the Convention and the findings of COST Action group to the neighbourhood of Várzea, in the city of Recife in Brazil. An area that was occupied by European settlers in the 16th century, with sugarcane plantations and other agricultural practices, and remained rural until the early 20thcentury. The tangible and intangible rural heritage of the site is presently detached from the population and does not follow the current practices of conservation. In order to mitigate this issue, the article proposes guidelines for its regeneration. The use of a framework developed outside of Brazil has the objective of proposing an experiment on a new set of actions to regenerate the site and enhance the potentials of the area related to its rural background.