State of the art on using Geotechnology to support neighbourhood impact studies

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Since its creation by the Brazilian City Statute (Brazil, 2001), the Neighbourhood Impact Study (NIS) has been consolidated as an impact analysis instrument, as a result of urban development implementation and operation. Law provides urban policy guidelines and defines NIS as a necessary tool to «obtain the construction, enlargement or operation licenses and permissions, under the responsibility of the local government» for private or public undertakings and activities within urban areas, which may cause «positive and negative effects on the quality of life of the population living in the impacted area and its surroundings, by undertakings and activities ». The same law provides that the uses depending on the development of the NIS to obtain licenses and permissions, will be defined by municipal law, further establishing a minimum mandatory content of the NIS, which comprises issues on population density, urban and community equipment, use and occupation, real state valuation, traffic generation and demand for public transportation, ventilation and lighting and urban landscaping and natural and cultural patrimony. Thus, local government provides urban planning possibilities. This paper intends to contribute to discussions on this issue, featuring the NIS as an Environmental Impact Assessment and pondering on the possibilities of impact analysis on the neighbourhood, with the use of tools deriving from the Geotechnologies.