Urban Sociology

Researchers collaborating on the project "Government and Governance in large cities: Paris, London, Mexico City and São Paulo"

Members

Samuel Ralize de Godoy
Ana Beatriz Henriques
Telma Hoyler
Leandro Padua Rodrigues
Carolina Requena Pereira
Marcos Vinicius Lopes Campos
Karin Deleuse Blikstad
Ana Paula Galdeano Cruz

Coordinator

Eduardo Cesar Leão Marques

 

Researchers collaborating on the project "Regional development and socio-productive inequalities: recent trends, conceptual redefinitions and development in terms of public policies"

Members

Cláudio Roberto Amitrano
Bernardo Palhares Campolina Diniz
Carlos Torres Freire
Márcia Regina Lima Silva
Adrián Gurza Lavalle
Eduardo César Marques
Haroldo Torres
Idenilza Moreira de Miranda
Ronaldo de Almeida
Sandra Cristina Gomes

Coordinator

Álvaro Augusto Comin

 

Social Network and Public Policy

New studies adopting social network analysis have been improving the understanding of processes within the State, shedding light on the relationship between the State and its immediate political surroundings, especially politicians and private companies. This set of studies showed the importance of networks in the operation of public policies. However, given the specificities of the policies studied, these investigations did not provide a significant contribution to the connections of networks within the State, their associative web and the users of the policies. On the other hand, studies on social inequalities faced by cities give special attention to the so-called street-level bureaucracy along with popular organizations. This research aims to fulfill this gap by analyzing the case of the last five governments of the city of São Paulo in a particularly relevant policy to urban inequalities – housing policies. This policy counts on organized social movements, and also on a state bureaucracy traditionally connected to them, therefore helping us to understand more about the State and its role on the reproduction of social inequalities in the city.

 

Researchers involved

 

Housing and precarious housing conditions in contemporary Brazil

This research investigates recently adopted housing policies within the Brazilian metropolitan context. It also analyzes the main features of popular housing alternatives in the metropolises. The study counts on primary data collected from municipal public agencies and relating to housing policies and other housing alternatives, and geocoded demographic information that can be overlaid with census data. By the use of Geographical Information Systems, the research can produce a profile of the population living in each of the alternatives – shanty towns (favelas) and public housing projects – and problematize the literature on urban studies and urban sociology.

 

Researchers involved

 

Social Network, segregation and poverty

New studies adopting social network analysis have been improving the understanding of processes within the State, shedding light on the relationship between the State and its immediate political surroundings, especially politicians and private companies. This set of studies showed the importance of networks in the operation of public policies. However, given the specificities of the policies studied, these investigations did not provide a significant contribution to the connections of networks within the State, their associative web and the users of the policies. On the other hand, studies on social inequalities faced by cities give special attention to the so-called street-level bureaucracy along with popular organizations. This research aims to fulfill this gap by analyzing the case of the last five governments of the city of São Paulo in a particularly relevant policy to urban inequalities – housing policies. This policy counts on organized social movements, and also on a state bureaucracy traditionally connected to them, therefore helping us to understand more about the State and its role on the reproduction of social inequalities in the city.

 

Researchers involved

 

Government and Governance in large cities: Paris, London, Mexico City and São Paulo

The objective of this investigation is to compare patterns of governance in large cities by focusing on São Paulo, Paris, London and Mexico City in cooperation with research teams from Science Po, Paris, Bartlet School in London and Cide in Mexico. We do not expect to find single or coherent patterns of government and governance in each city (or even among them) but rather different patterns depending on the way a specific policy area combines the interactions of state agents from various levels of authority with the private initiative and groups (legal and illegal) from the civil society, acting within diverse relational and institutional environments. In theoretical terms it means to overcome the classical issue of Who governs? by asking Who governs What? and also Who governs When the State does not? The comparison follows a case study logic investigating the existence of processes and their combination order so as to specify under what conditions the various patterns of governance found are formed and operate.

 

Researchers involved

 

Regional development and socio-productive inequalities: recent trends, conceptual redefinitions and development in terms of public policies

The goal is to carry out a comparative study on the impacts of economic opening and restructuring on the largest metropolitan regions in Brazil from the point of view of the productive structure, labor market and poverty. Two dimensions are privileged:

  1. inter-metropolitan analysis in order to understand the changes in the structure of regional inequality in Brazil
  2. intra-metropolitan analysis, directed at the structure of inequality within a metropolitan space.

One of the expected consequences of these studies is to provide concrete subsidies to the reformulation of regional and sector development policies at different levels of government. 

 

Researchers involved

 

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