In recent decades it has been observed the demolition of viaducts in areas that have suffered large depreciation of the urban space because of these buildings. This process, in addition to providing areas with better quality of life, brings up questions about the use of the car, so fashionable in recent times. For years, urban mobility has developed in road mode. In other words, much of the transportation planning was - and still is - linked to passenger cars. Consequently, viaducts have become the best solution, from the road point of view, to connect quickly and safely two areas of a city. This kind of planning is due to the concepts of modern urbanism, which allows even now to deploy large structures in consolidated residential areas, cutting the urban fabric and definitely impacting entire families that find themselves forced to leave their homes in favor of progress. So viaducts have been built around the world, including in Rio de Janeiro, in an imposing way and with the allegation that these works were for the well-being of the city, and thinking otherwise would oppose progress, history and modernity itself (BERMAN, 2007, p. 345). As time passed and, because of the growing number of cars and frequent traffic jams, urban planners and experts in the transportation field began a questioning process on how to solve the problem of urban mobility. One of the trends of today is to treat all in a sustainable way, and this also includes investments in public transport and non-motorized, valuing walking, hiking and cycling routes at the expense of passenger car. It was at the center of this discussion – the city that we have and the city that we want - that this work emerged. The above expression originates in the Statute of City, created by a Brazilian federal law in 2001 (Law No. 10,257), which determines that the management of cities must be democratic. From this concept, then, debates, hearings and public consultations are proposed, that is, it is understood that there should be popular participation in decisions. Thus, it follows that the participation of society in the definition of public spaces is closely related to quality of life. Imbued with this idea and considering that Rio de Janeiro City is going through a historic urban landmark with the demolition of the Perimetral viaduct which aims to revitalize and modernize the port area of the city, two questions arise: what does the main by impacted population say about this type of structure? Is it possible to measure the impacts caused by a viaduct on a daily basis? The method of this study was, therefore, the development of direct questions to the residents, the true users of these spaces. To do this analysis we had to choose one of these structures to be used as a case study. At this point, the Paulo de Frontin viaduct in the neighborhood of Rio Comprido proved to be an ideal model. The demolition of the Paulo de Frontin viaduct it would then be the best solution for the region? Or architectural and landscape solutions would be enough to improve the quality of space? What do the residents think in this regard? It is in seeking answers to these questions that this research is justified, ie, the reading of reality implies knowing how to listen to people, as postulated by the Statute of City.