THE WALLS OF SOCIOSPATIAL FRAGMENTATION: THE MATERIAL AND THE SYMBOLIC IN THE MEDIUM-SIZED CITY AND THE METROPOLIS

THE MATERIAL AND THE SYMBOLIC IN THE MEDIUM-SIZED CITY AND THE METROPOLIS

Abstract

This article aims to deepen the theoretical-analytical discussion about the relations between the material and symbolic representations of walls in housing habitats and the ongoing process of socio-spatial fragmentation in medium-sized city and metropolis. For this purpose, the main methodological procedures used in this study are: systematic observation in the field; bibliographic review and interviews with citizens in the medium-sized city of Presidente Prudente (SP) and in the metropolis of São Paulo. Even though the research covered a variety of housing typologies from different social strata in both areas of study, priority is given, in the analysis of working-class habitats, to residential spaces produced by social housing projects, and in the metropolitan area, they were selected, specifically, two peripheral territories: Cidade Tiradentes (São Paulo) and Pimentas (Guarulhos). The results demonstrate the deepening of socio-spatial differentiation, mainly with regard to the material and symbolic dimension of the walling process of different types of residential areas in both urban contexts. The study also infers an inherent contradiction in walls: they can constitute a structure element of buildings and allow greater privacy for people, but they can also represent a materiality that provokes the apartment, the differentiation and the segregation of groups of city dwellers.