Urban occupation in North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and its implications in second residence tourism

Abstract The North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, is a region in increasing urban expansion process that has been under several transformation in its forms of urban occupation and growth throughout history. Since the first occupations by ranches and farms to the current arrangements predominantly touristic, cities in this region went through a series of changes of uses and forms. This paper aims to present and analyze the periods of occupation of the North Coast of Rio Grande do Sul, and their relationship to second residence tourism, delimited by identifying the uses, analysis of the forms of urban growth, urban mesh and typology of buildings in the region. This research identified and analyzed four periods in the process of occupation of the region: ranches and farms (up to 1888), health tourism (1888-1940), coastal allotments (1940-1995) and gated communities (1995-2016).