The pacification of Brazil's urban margins

Peripheral urbanisation and dynamic order-making

Bibliographic Data

ID13041263
AuthorsMarli Richmond (0000-0002-1563-3615, London School of Economics and Political Science, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume17
Issue3
Pages248-261
Publication date2021-04-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueContemporary Social Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2158-2041 • E-ISSN: 2158-205X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/21582041.2021.1906937
OpenAlexW3153700532
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited13

This article explores the relationship between informal processes of urbanisation and order-making at Brazil's urban margins. It draws on research conducted in contrasting neighbourhoods in the peripheries of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, analysing the influence of different kinds of criminal organisation on these areas. It is argued that the unpredictable processes surrounding peripheral urbanisation – the irregular occupation or subdivision of land, the growth of diverse markets, physical consolidation and, in some cases, eventual formalisation – provide a dynamic backdrop against which local order and disorder are produced. To theorise these interrelated processes, I mobilise the concept of ‘pacification’. This is usually used to refer to violent state interventions against socially and racially marginalised populations that are followed by measures designed to create more lasting stability. However, I argue that, while it may ultimately have such effects, pacification should be understood as a provisional outcome of ongoing negotiations between state and criminal actors rather than as a coherent, top-down project

Economic geography · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Making-of · Negotiation · Order (exchange · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · State (computer science · Subdivision · Urbanization · Crime Patterns and Interventions · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law

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Open DOIOpen Access