Challenges for the evaluation of sites of geological interest in urban areas: Baixada santista, São Paulo state coast

Abstract

The elements of geodiversity are susceptible to threats, mostly anthropic. Urban sprawl, in particular, has elevated the impacts caused to geodiversity and results in the loss of sites of geological interest. In the municipalities of Santos, São Vicente and Cubatão there are important records of the past and the evolutionary history of the region, however this area is highly urbanized and such sites are not taken into account in land use planning. In this context, inventory and quantitative evaluation of sites of geological interest were performed. Six geosites and three geodiversity sites were defined, which represent the geological history of the region from the Neoproterozoic to the Quaternary. The urbanization directly affected the sites of geological interest, causing the loss of elements of geodiversity, and these places must be preserved and taken into account when carrying out interventions in the region.