Environmentalisation of the Urban

The research seeks to identify and qualify the use of environmental rhetoric applied to the urban space of the city of Rio de Janeiro on the one hand by governments and multilateral organizations and on the other by NGOs and local social actors. Based on the analysis of the empirical material collected it was explained what different social actors understand by the same categories and concepts (environment sustainability development and environmental justice) within the same historical context. The initial hypothesis that there would be a dichotomy between what were termed environmentalists of the poor (Martinez-Alier 2009) personified by environmentalism of the Sierra de Misericordia (SIMAS 2007) and official environmentalism (government environmentalism) was not sustained. In effect it was noted that misericordian environmentalism - which at first sight presented itself as being of the poor - was configured in certain practices as being the same as that advocated by the government. On the other hand however at other times it presents elements that bring it closer to the concept advocated by environmental justice and the entire struggle for equality and guaranteed rights.