Aracaju beach bars as a contested market: Conflicts and overlaps between market and nature

Abstract

The premise for this paper is that the almost 50 beach bars built on the beaches along the Expansion Urban Zone of the city of Aracaju, in the Northeast of Brazil, constitute a form of commerce on the beach that has become a contested market. This has become more evident since 2014, after a lawsuit was filed by the Brazilian Federal Public Ministry to demolish all the beach bars in Aracaju's Expansion Urban Zone, based on environmental and operational claims. In this paper, we used the data from the ongoing, more than 3,000 page lawsuit process, as well as from in-depth interviews with beach bar owners, to frame the beach bars of Aracaju as a contested market, characterized by having disputed moral issues, and involving vulnerable populations and devices. The research shows how (1) the contestation can be mainly framed between two opposed ideas: restricted and paid access to the beach, connected with the idea of sustainability; versus unrestricted and free access to the beach, connected to the idea of wilderness and conservation; (2) The modus operandi to change and to reconcile these opposite views is presented in the form of “new” revitalization projects, conceptualized as “new” designs having consequences both on the identity of beach bar owners and on the very concept of beach bars.