Public squares besides collaborating the beauty of cities, also exert important function in the environmental and urbanistic context. Dr. Augusto Silva square, situated in the city of Lavras - MG, has been already called Largo da Matriz, Praça Central and Jardim Municipal. It was officially inaugurated on November 29, 1908, when it started having the name of an illustrious doctor from Lavras. The square Dr. Augusto Silva, has a current area of 7.552,65 m² and presents, as its extension, Leonardo Venerando Pereira square, with current area of 2.041,72 m². Until 1940, this extension had been called Praça da Bandeira. Since then it was evidenced than since early the 1910s, this place has been the stage of great celebrations and political meetings. It has also been a well frequented place by the population. It has rich vegetation, where a centennial tipuana (Tipuana tipu) and imperial palms (Roystonea oleracea) are distinguished. With the objective evaluating its current situation and uses, an evaluation was accomplished, by means of quantitative analysis and research together with population. A series of evaluations was made, referring to the following itens: urbanistic and physical aspects, and the vegetation. The survey was applied to approximately 600 users, in the park in different days of the week and schedules, using a questionnaire with direct questions to the interviewed ones. The collected data had been statistically analyzed using the software SPSS, where the percentage frequencies were been obtained. Most of the interviewed ones judges the park as a meeting place among friends, where they contemplate its beauty and rest. By means of researches of opinion made with the users of the square, one could identify that the park is a place well frequented by several age groups, at different periods of the day. Dr. Augusto Silva square has been of great importance to the daily life of the population, improving mainly their environmental quality of life.
Green areas; Public squares; landscape design
