THE INFRASTRUCTURAL CONDITIONS OF SPORTS FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT IN SÃO LUÍS/MA: WHAT WAS SAID, WRITTEN AND DONE BETWEEN 2014 AND 2022

Abstract

The aim of this article was to analyze the infrastructural conditions of the public sports spaces and equipment under the responsibility of the Municipal Sports and Leisure Department (SEMDEL) in the city of São Luís/MA, from 2014 to 2022, with a view to explaining the existence or not of a conservation and safety policy for these areas. The study is of a quantitative and qualitative nature, with an exploratory objective. The proposal was based on a combination of document analysis, field research and a bibliographic survey. For its operationalization, semi-structured interviews, forms and systematic observation were used as data collection techniques, with the aim of answering the question of SEMDEL role in promoting actions aimed at the conservation and safety of the spaces and sports equipment under its responsibility. The results showed that the public authorities are timid in their efforts to manage a policy for the conservation and safety of sports facilities and equipment, aggravated by the fact that SEMDEL is not recognized as the body responsible for managing more than 85% of the streets. There is a lack of proposals, both in terms of drawing up a management plan that describes the reality and main needs of the locations that do or do not have such spaces, and in terms of allocating financial resources capable of permanently meeting the infrastructural conditions of all the environments. It was proven that, within the geographical administrative limits of the city of São Luís, there are neighborhoods without any sports leisure spaces, while in others there is a visible concentration, revealing an inequality of access resulting from the actions of the public authorities.