RAILWAY AND CITY

FROM HARMONIOUS PAST TO TROUBLED HORIZON IN BARRA DO PIRAÍ

Abstract

The relationship between city and railway drives this article. We start with the history of the city of Barra do Piraí, exposing its intrinsic relationship with the implementation of railways in the 19th century; we address this relationship throughout the 20th century; and we bring the debate into the 21st century, aiming to discuss the power relations engendered in the privatizing management of this infrastructure that crosses the Barrense territory. This is qualitative research, of a descriptive and exploratory nature, through which we reveal conflicts between the conformation of urban space and the operations undertaken on the railway today, identifying power relations between the concessionaire, the granting power and other public agents in management of infrastructure.