[pt] Esta pesquisa analisa a comunicação visual para orientação no espaço urbano da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, seus emissores, veículos e receptores, com o propósito de avaliar a sua abrangência discursiva e especular sobre seu provável potencial de aproximação entre as áreas informais, ou de origem informal, e o conjunto da cidade, contribuindo para a declarada intenção da prefeitura de integrar todo o ambiente urbano. Retratando a realidade social e morfológica de cinco comunidades do bairro Maré, de origem informal, observa as atuações e omissões dos agentes oficiais responsáveis por esta comunicação no espaço público; identifica necessidades de mudanças de paradigma, adaptações ergonômicas e enunciativas, para que os sistemas de comunicação visual voltados para a orientação nos espaços de origem informal, adensados e orgânicos, possam se constituir em poderoso instrumento no fortalecimento da presença do poder público nestas áreas. / [en] This research investigates the visual communication for orientation in the urban spaces of the city of Rio de Janeiro, its emitters, media, and receptors, with the purpose of evaluating its discursive extension and to speculate on its probable approach potential among the informal (or of informal origin) areas, and the group of the city, contributing to the declared town hall intention of integrating the whole urban environment. Portraying the social and morphological reality of five informally originated communities of the district Maré, it observes the actions and omissions of the official agents responsible for this communication in the public space and it identifies needs of paradigm changes, and ergonomic and enunciative adaptations, so that the systems of visual communication for orientation in these places, dense and organic, could be a powerful instrument to strengthen the public power in these places.

Dans ce mémoire, je défends l’idée que le magazine contribue à l’aménagement des lieux qui constituent l’espace public urbain et qu’il fait partie intégrante de « textures » (Adams et Jansson, 2012) qui construisent socialement et culturellement les lieux. J’étudie le magazine imprimé comme un objet physique et situé et m’intéresse aux infrastructures qui le rendent visible. Par une écologie médiatique urbaine, je propose d’ériger un pont entre l’objet médiatique « exceptionnel » (Abrahamson, 2007) qu’est le magazine imprimé et ses lieux afin de considérer le magazine autrement que par les analyses de contenu qui ont dominé les études sur le magazine. En déambulant dans les rues de Montréal, je suis allé à la recherche du magazine pour témoigner de sa présence continue à l’ère du numérique. / In this thesis, I argue that the printed magazine contributes to the planning of the places that make up urban public space and that it is an integral part of the 'textures' (Adams and Jansson, 2012) that socially and culturally construct places. I study the printed magazine as a physical and situated object and I am interested in the infrastructures that make it visible. Through an urban media ecology, I propose to build a bridge between the 'exceptional' (Abrahamson, 2007) media object that is the printed magazine and its places in order to consider the media differently from the content analyses that have long dominated magazine studies. Wandering the streets of Montreal, I went in search of the magazine to highlight its continued presence in the digital age.