GEOGRAPHY OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY

APPROACH FOR A CRITICAL URBAN GEOGRAPHY PRESENTED BY THE SOCIAL PRODUCTION OF THE FAVELA IN SALVADOR (BAHIA)

Abstract

The empirical analysis of the invisible reproduction of social and spatial inequalities in Brazilian cities demands a specific approach. The following article highlights this approach while taking a critical view on a geography of social inequality. It intends to conceptually contribute to the ongoing research into the causes of perpetuating injustices and examining space as a powerful factor in the reproduction of social inequality. This approach, which is one of hermeneutical geography, aims to understand the structure of the city in its social construction. Taking the idiographic example of Salvador in Brazil background knowledge was acquired following the principles of grounded theory. The approach should be seen as a transferable concept also applicable to other metropolises and societies that are part of the so called “modern periphery” (SOUZA 2000, 2006). The “modern periphery” is characterized by hidden mechanisms perpetuating the logic of social domination and subordination. The specific geographical focus of this approach is to understand the fragmented and divided urban space, coming from different social dispositions. This shall be examined at the example of the social construction and meaning of the favelas.