Portuguese 
Spanish 
Fortaleza expanded about 2 km of the Beira-Mar using sand removed from the seabed, in a project that redesigned one of the most famous shorelines of Ceará and created space for a boardwalk, bike path, standardized kiosks, and new leisure areas.
One of the most well-known shorelines in the Brazilian Northeast underwent a transformation marked by scale, engineering, and an unusual image: sand removed from the seabed was used to expand the beach strip of Avenida Beira-Mar, in Fortaleza.
Planned by the City Hall of Fortaleza, the intervention anticipated the expansion of approximately 80 meters over a stretch of 1.2 km and, combined with the existing area at Praia de Iracema, formed about 2 km of expanded strip.
The service order for the new landfill of Avenida Beira-Mar was signed in April 2019, and the City Hall of Fortaleza reported that the expansion works were scheduled to start in mid-June of that year, with completion expected by April 2020, as part of the shoreline requalification complex.
-
Friends turn paper into ‘bubble wrap’ without plastic to protect products inside cardboard boxes, win an innovation award in the UK, and join a 13 million euro European project to bring the packaging to industrial scale.
-
Mechanics remove the engine from a used Fiat Fiorino, install an electric kit with WEG and FuelTech, place batteries in the cargo area, and prepare the van to run 100 km per day in Brazil.
-
Old fridge turns to gold: project transforms rigid foam from discarded refrigerators into raw material for new plastics and paves the way to also recycle building insulation, in an ambitious and surprising initiative against one of the most difficult industrial wastes to reuse.
-
Hong Kong is excavating a colossal complex of 2.3 million m³ and 14 hectares inside a mountain, an underground station to replace a unit that serves around 700,000 people and to free up 28 hectares on the surface.
In a high-traffic tourist area, the project altered the physical configuration of the shoreline and opened space for a broader urban requalification, connecting beach, boardwalk, leisure, mobility, and services in one of the busiest spots of the capital of Ceará.
The project included the expansion of the existing landfill at Praia de Iracema and the creation of a new landfill between Rui Barbosa and Desembargador Moreira avenues, in a strategic stretch of the capital of Ceará.
According to the City Hall of Fortaleza, the two interventions together equate to an area of almost 18 blocks, a dimension that helps explain the visual impact of the change in the urban landscape of Beira-Mar.
Sand from the seabed changed the Beira-Mar of Fortaleza
The most curious aspect of the project lies in the path taken by the material used in the expansion: instead of merely renovating sidewalks or installing new urban equipment, the city physically expanded the beach with sand from the marine environment itself.
Removed from the seabed through dredging, the material was transported to the coastal strip and became part of the new landfill of Beira-Mar, creating a larger base for circulation, permanence, and reorganization of public space.
From this expansion, urban requalification gained conditions to advance beyond the simple replenishment of sand, as the new space allowed for the integration of leisure equipment, social areas, and structures aimed at tourism.
According to the Fortaleza City Hall, the landfill would allow the implementation of a wide boardwalk, a landscaped vehicle access road, a bike path, a running track, sports equipment, a children’s park, food kiosks, new lighting, and landscaping.
Located in one of the city’s most symbolic areas, the chosen stretch concentrates hotels, restaurants, fairs, tourist facilities, and intense circulation of residents and visitors, making the expansion relevant beyond coastal engineering.
By gaining a wider coastal strip, Beira-Mar now has more space to organize activities that were already part of the routine of the shoreline but competed for limited areas in a high-traffic point.
New landfill expanded strategic stretch of Praia de Iracema
In the strip corresponding to the stretch between the piers of Avenida Rui Barbosa and Avenida Desembargador Moreira, the Fortaleza City Hall reported that the planned widening was approximately 80 meters.
This 1.2 km stretch adds to the existing landfill widening at Praia de Iracema, forming a set of about 2 km of coastal intervention in one of Ceará’s most well-known seafronts.
The project’s scale draws attention because the change occurred not only in the design of a square or an avenue but in the very interface between the city and the sea, where the population occupies the shoreline daily.
In a capital strongly associated with coastal tourism, the beach’s expansion also repositioned the area as a space for socializing, sports, dining, and strolling, strengthening functions that are already part of Beira-Mar’s identity.
Budgeted at around R$ 68 million, according to information released by the Fortaleza City Hall in the service order for the new landfill, the work involved dredging, pipelines, and the use of a specialized vessel.
To bring sand from the seabed to the widening area, the project required a specific maritime operation, with equipment capable of moving sediments and operating in a high-traffic urban area.
Dredging required logistics to transport sand to the shore
The presence of a dredging vessel in the process shows the logistical complexity of the intervention, especially as it involved sediment removal, pipeline installation, material transport, and execution in a tourist area of the city.
According to the Fortaleza City Hall, the vessel would assist in dredging and installing the pipelines responsible for the drainage works and the creation of the new Beira-Mar landfill.
In addition to expanding the beach strip, the intervention was connected to protection and recovery against coastal erosion, a theme addressed in municipal administration documents as part of the urban mobility works of Avenida Beira-Mar.
This combination of coastal recovery and urban requalification explains why the project was presented not just as a beach work, but as an integrated intervention in one of the most important maritime fronts of the capital.
In practice, the new landfill created the necessary physical base to accommodate permanent facilities and wider circulation areas, something essential in a region where the flow of pedestrians, cyclists, tourists, and workers is constant.
Bicycle paths, running tracks, kiosks, and leisure spaces depend on a larger usable area to function comfortably, especially on a waterfront that combines tourist, commercial, and recreational activities for much of the day.
Without this expansion, urban reorganization would be limited to the space already existing between the avenue and the sea, reducing the margin to accommodate new uses and improve circulation in the busiest section.
Waterfront gained space for leisure, tourism, and circulation
In the economic use of the waterfront, the transformation also had significant weight, as the Beira-Mar functions as a postcard of Fortaleza and a tourist showcase for those arriving in the capital of Ceará.
The requalification strengthens activities related to gastronomy, crafts, services, and leisure, creating a more organized area for entrepreneurs, workers, and visitors who circulate daily in the region.
Another point that helps explain the interest in the case is how a technical work transforms into a landscape easily perceived by the public, without relying on complex explanations to show its effects.
For those passing through the region, the result appears as more beach, more walking area, more structure, and more staying space, making the intervention visible in the everyday experience of the waterfront.
Presented by the Fortaleza City Hall as part of a larger intervention on Avenida Beira-Mar, the beach nourishment integrated with new lighting, landscaping, and urban equipment aimed at reorganizing the public space.
This set reinforces the logic of using the beach expansion as a starting point to redesign the relationship between the city and the coast, without restricting the project to the simple replenishment of sand.
In heavily frequented urban beaches, the everyday experience depends on reconciling leisure, circulation, commerce, landscape, safety, and maintenance of public space, especially in areas where every meter of the waterfront has great social and economic value.
By creating a wider strip, Fortaleza now has an additional area to organize these uses, improve the occupation of Beira-Mar, and expand the available structure in one of Ceará’s main postcards.
The contrast between the origin of the material and the final result is the point that makes the intervention more curious to the public: the sand that was at the bottom of the sea has formed a new strip of beach.
On this expanded base, the city created space for a boardwalk, bicycle path, running track, kiosks, and social areas, transforming a coastal engineering operation into a visible part of the urban landscape.
Do you think other Brazilian cities should use similar solutions to recover and reorganize their busiest waterfronts?
