STREET FOOD IN THE HISTORIC CENTRE OF BELÉM/ PA

Abstract

Gastronomic tourism is an economic, social and cultural activity that requires planning and public policies. In addition to restaurants and other establishments linked to the food phenomenon, cities have a legion of street food vendors, whether selling fast food or regional cuisine. Belém has held the title of Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO since 2015. This state capital was also involved in organising the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP-30) in 2025, which attracted thousands of tourists to the city. Preparations for this event included the redevelopment and revitalisation of several public spaces, with obvious repercussions for street food vendors. In this sense, we propose as the general objective of this research to determine the relevance of street food to intangible cultural heritage, as well as in terms of urban planning, for cultural and gastronomic tourism in the city of Belém/PA. In methodological terms, the research is qualitative in nature. In this sense, we mapped street vendors linked to food supply and developed ethnographic research through participant and direct observation in the public spaces where these social actors were located. Finally, we conducted semi-structured interviews with some agents in the food sector. As for conclusions, we understand that the historic centre of Belém presents cultural heritage, both in terms of tangible and intangible aspects, which includes traditional or regional food. The sale of street food therefore plays an important role in promoting this type of heritage. Finally, it is worth highlighting the creation of tourism and leisure parks, as well as the redevelopment and revitalisation of public spaces for COP-30 in 2025, which have provided better conditions for street food vendors, as well as for users, residents and tourists.