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Use and appropriation of the cultural space biogeographically located in the Central Western region of Brazil has historically been a source of conflict. Currently, new social agents have demanded participation in occupying that space, giving rise to new conflicts, now understood as environmental, which update the dispute by determining the way in which natural elements are used and appropriated. Since the arrival of new immigrants in the 1970s, meanings attributed to social identities have been built that clash with behaviors, characteristics, and values associated with the local population. Opposition between these two profiles is felt sometimes subtly, other times explicitly, suggesting that this aspect guides the configuration of social identities and, as a result, of the conflicts between the agents' demands, logic and expectations. The aim of this article is to discuss configuration of the profile of "gaúchos" and "goianos" in the Central Western region, with their historically constructed clashes and accommodations, and contemporary readjustments associated with incorporating the "environmental issue" into local dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sociology has developed methodologies to understand sociocultural aspects that determine environmental problems and motivate favorable or unfavorable behavior regarding the ecosystem. Based on a survey applied to 874 people, this essay characterizes environmental values, worldviews, social rules, perceptions and behaviors of the inhabitants of two administrative units in the territory of Bogota D.C. - Engativá with 795,836 inhabitants and Barrios Unidos with 224,654 inhabitants, according to the 2005 census. The structure and dimensions of analysis used in this study take into account the contributions and empirical research carried out by environmental sociology, which since 1972, has been recognized as a scientific subdiscipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]