Accessibility is a well-established concept in sustainable transportation literature; however, it is often measured through accessibility models that are still being developed. This article presents an accessibility evaluation model that applies multiple attributes, fuzzy functions, and spatial analysis tools. The model determines indices that reflect an average level of attractiveness for each potential destination (deemed a location of interest—LI). Each destination has different weights based on its degree of importance. Moreover, the model was developed in two phases: The first considered cost–distance metrics, and the second incorporated ground friction factors. The application of the model provides great contribution to the region under study (Campos do Jordão, a city located in a mountainous region of the state of São Paulo), thus presenting some implications for sustainable urban planning and mobility policies, especially in segregated areas with mixed inhabitant populations between tourists and local residents. The results have shown that special attention should be paid to planning new school facilities and city transportation systems. Most of these services are currently concentrated in the city’s downtown area, making access to urban facilities inefficient and unfair. Using the results in urban projects, the allocation of future urban facilities or the reallocation of current urban facilities contributes to reduced impacts on urban mobility caused by individual motorized transportation in daily activities.

The objective of this study was to propose a set of procedures to assess areas regarding the suitability of sustainable drainage systems (SuDSs) with application in a basin in the urban area of São Carlos (Brazil). The assessment was based on an analysis of 39 attributes reflecting the infiltration conditions that control the functional and constructive aspects of the systems, including subsurface drainability, stability, and groundwater contamination potential, which control the degree of suitability of each plot of land. The data obtained through engineering geological mapping procedures and physical principles were used to characterize the area, which resulted in the division of the basin into five SuDS suitability zones, ranging from favorable to restrictive. The proposed procedures proved to be efficient for analyzing the suitability of different SuDS types and the zoning of an area into terrain units. This approach can help planners identify the most appropriate SuDS types for a given unit, optimize the efficiency/cost relationship, and foresee potential environmental and construction-related challenges. In other words, this procedure enables the assessment of the suitability of SuDSs for different unit terrain types with inexpensive and environmentally efficient technological procedures and resources and can be applied at a fine geographic scale.

This paper analyzed the anthropic expansion of the municipality of Paraty-RJ in relation to the Serra da Bocaina National Park. In addition to the bibliographic and documentary revision of the Municipal Master Plan and the Park Management Plan, geoprocessing tools were used for chronological analyzes of land use and occupation change in 2001, 2006 and 2018, using images from the satellite Landsat 5 and Landsat 8. It was verified the growth of the anthropic occupation in a diffuse way in relation to the Park, without respect to the municipal planning, reflecting in the decrease of the native vegetation cover. Both the Master and Management Plans have been inefficient in terms of their objectives, justifying the need for improvements in Paraty and Park management through the responsible agencies.

The New Forest Code (NFC), Federal Law 12.651/ 2012, changed the definitions for Permanent Protection Areas (PPA) located on the hilltops. The resolutions drastically reduced the area legally protected by this category of protection. In this sense, we sought to understand how the land use and land cover (LULC) can alter the hydrological regime, using scenarios and simulations of a distributed conceptual model. For that, the top of hill PPAs were mapped according to the revoked definition and current law, using the inverted Digital Elevation Model (DEM) methodology. Such mapping supported the development of four hypothetical LULC scenarios in the basin, with different percentages of forest cover. For the hydrological simulation, the Large Basin Model of the Institute of Hydraulic Research (MGB-IPH) was used and was adjusted to the current conditions of LULC and later, the hydrological behavior was simulated under the different scenarios. According to the mapping carried out, the reduction of PPAs at the top of the hill for the Sapucaí River basin is greater than 99% with the application of the current code. There were no significant differences in the hydrological behavior of the basin considering the current LULC conditions and the three scenarios based on PPA coverage. In the third and fourth scenarios, there was an increase in average flows that coincides with the increase in forest cover. It is noteworthy that this increase is the greater amount of water in the soil, once the runoff was reduced with the increase of the forest cover in the sub-basin. Keywords: Hydrological simulation, environmental legislation, hydrological regime

A bacia hidrográfica do Rio Castelo (BHRC), localiza-se em uma região montanhosa que possui grande importância econômica mineral para a região sul do estado do Espirito Santo, ao conhecermos os parâmetros morfométricos e estruturais das bacias entendemos melhor a dinâmica do ambiente, facilitando o planejamento e gestão dos recursos hídricos. Para o levantamento dos parâmetros morfométricos e estruturais, utilizou-se imagens de satélite ALOS, sensor PALSAR, com resolução espacial de 12,5m obtidas por meio da plataforma Alaska Satellite Facility, das quais foram extraídas as informações de interesse. De acordo com a caracterização morfométrica a BHRC foi classificada como de 7ª ordem, com área de 1478.5 km², formato elíptico e apresentando alta de densidade de rios (6.47 rios/km²). Os parâmetros morfométricos e as análises estruturais indicam o forte controle tectônico estrutural presente na BHRC impostos pelas foliações, bandamentos rochosos, fraturas e falhas, com predomínio de trends de direções NW-SE e NE-SW, refletindo o controle sobre os padrões das redes de drenagem em treliça e paralelas. As estruturas lineares existentes controlam a dinâmica das águas na bacia e os estudos sobre elas são fundamentais para a gestão estratégica dos recursos hídricos dos municípios que integram a bacia.Palavras-chave: Bacia Hidrográfica; Caracterização Morfométrica; Geoprocessamento. Morphometric characterization and structural analysis of the Castelo River Basin, Espírito Santo, Brazil A B S T R A C TThe Castelo River watershed (BHRC) is located in a mountainous region that has great mineral economic importance for the southern region of the state of Espirito Santo. By knowing the morphometric and structural parameters of the basins, we better understand the dynamics of the environment, facilitating the planning and management of water resources. To survey the morphometric and structural parameters, ALOS satellite images, PALSAR sensor, with a spatial resolution of 12.5m obtained through the Alaska Satellite Facility platform were used, from which the information of interest was extracted. According to the morphometric characterization, the BHRC was classified as 7th order, with an area of 1478.5 km², elliptical shape and high river density (6.47 rivers/km²). The morphometric parameters and structural analyzes indicate the strong structural tectonic control present in the BHRC imposed by foliations, rock banding, fractures and faults, with a predominance of trends in the NW-SE and NE-SW directions, reflecting the control over the patterns of the network of lattice and parallel drainage. The existing linear structures control the water dynamics in the basin and studies on them are fundamental for the strategic management of water resources in the municipalities that make up the basin.Keywords: Hydrographic Basin; Morphometric Characterization; Geoprocessing.