MALOCAS AND PERIPHERY: the production of Restinga Neighborhood

Abstract

The space is produced through the articulation between the state institutions (i.e.government) and the neighborhood relationships – normally they superimpose each other. From this logic, the space Restinga, a neighborhood in the south of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil, is understood. First, it is seen as a creation of the State, from the segregation of the population from irregular villages. It is also a technocratic thought which, through the use of force or marketing devices – urban space as a commodity –, determines the individuals’ place in the city. Second, as a space where people build their lives, making strategies, changing the forms and constitutes private relationships. Thus, Restinga neighborhood is produced, as well as the production of its representations, which stigmatizes the individuals and, on the other hand, consolidates emotional links with the neighborhood.