WEAKENING PUBLIC SPACES THROUGH THE USE OF SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS IN THE CITY OF VILA VELHA, ES, BRAZIL

Abstract

doi: 10.12957/geouerj.2016.16928

This article approaches the weakening of public spaces in a context of surveillance camera use, which will be discussed based on a case-study of Vila Velha surveillance camera system, a city located in the Metropolitan Area of Vitoria, Espírito Santo, Brazil. This investigation aims at deconstructing the public administration discourse, in which cameras are justifiable to "combat crime" and/or increase the "feeling of safety" among citizens. The study also aims at showing the damage caused to some of the conditions underlying the notion of public spaces if cameras are seen as technological devices that play the role of controlling social subjects and their spaces. We adopted participant observation behind the cameras to follow the work routine of camera operators and their workplace, as well as in front of the cameras to observe the everyday life in three monitored areas, interviewing passersby, residents and business owners. The results show some factors that limit the surveillance operation; the apparent indifference in which citizens relate to the cameras; and the weakening of public spaces, since cameras pose serious threats to liberty, plurality, and routine of citizens.