TRANSFORMATION IN THE URBAN STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL INEQUALITIES: reflections from Salvador's trajectory

Abstract

Considering the changes that have taken place in Brazilian cities in recent decades, this article revisits the discussion on socio-spatial segregation and the “territory effect,” analyzing their impacts on the production and reproduction of social inequalities. Based on quantitative data and field research carried out on the city of Salvador, this article addresses the characteristics of its urbanization process, the existing segregation patterns, the available urban structure, and the inequalities, analyzed from the quality of the urban environment, access to educational services, employment opportunities, urban mobility, stigmatization, and violence. Abstracting some local specificities, the reality of Salvador does not fundamentally differ from what is seen in other large cities in the country, evidencing the articulation between the patterns of production, appropriation, and enjoyment of urban space and the reproduction of inequalities, since the social space, the stratification and the hierarchies are also translated into the territory.

Keywords:
Socio-Spatial Segregation; Space Production; Urban Inequalities; Territory Effect; Salvador