Abstract
This article is a chronicle of the historical evolution of the metamorphosis of the urban order in Rio de Janeiro during the period 1980–2010. It is based on a synthesis of an investigation conducted by the Observatório das Metrópoles in the period 2009–2015 on urban order changes in the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro as part of the research program entitled “Metropolises: social cohesion, territory and governance” comprising a comparative work between 14 different metropolitan contexts. Our discussion will address the following questions: what are the impacts of the economic and political changes that took place in Brazil on the metropolis of Rio de Janeiro over the last 30 years? Can we identify signs of transformations in the urban order? What is the relevance of taking as reference for our analysis the period comprised between 1980 and 2010? We conclude our discussion by reflecting on the reproduction explanatory mechanisms of this urban order, despite the fact that the period covered by our analysis comprises different economic and political frameworks.
Keywords
- Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
- Urban Order
- Metropolization
- Social changes
Métamorphoses, dialectique du même et du différent; dégager les transformations historiques de ce modèle, souligner ce que ses príncipales cristallisations comportent à la fois de nouveau et de permanent, fût-ce sous des formes qui ne les sont pas immédiatement reconnaissables (Castel 1995, p. 16)
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Notes
- 1.
The overall results of this program were grouped in the collection “Metropolis: urban transformations”, available at: http://transformacoes.observatoriodasmetropoles.net.
- 2.
The use of the term ‘grammar’ expresses our intention to highlight the need to overcome a purely spatial reading of residential segregation, including the possible social meanings present in the interactions resulting from distancing and proximity carried out through the territory. In our view, this is only possible by reading the residential segregation from the acknowledgment of the institutionalized patterns that naturalize and legitimize hierarchies and inequalities of society. Such purpose has affinity with the works of Katzman (2007) on the understanding of the patterns of residential segregation in Latin America, of Souza (2004) on the foundations of social inequalities in Brazil, and of Nunes (1997) on the patterns of political relations between State and Society in Brazil.
- 3.
The thesis of the inflection of urban order was analytically constructed and presented in Ribeiro (2013).
- 4.
As Fernandes argued, our insertion in the expansion of the industrial-financial capitalism brings out the urban and metropolitan hegemony simultaneously on national territory, resulting in a dynamic concentration of material, human and technical resources in some cities “giving rise to typical phenomena of metropolization and satellization under dependent capitalism” (1976, p. 207).
- 5.
It is worth to consider in this reflection the following description of Tavares on the territorial and demographic fundamentals of the conservative alliance that presided over the development of Brazilian capitalism: “The periodical resource to an authoritarian order seeks its State reasons both in the preservation of the national territory and in the support of capitalist expansion, in new frontiers of accumulation, where its role was to prevent open class struggle, of landowners and capital, and to ensure the submission of local or migrant populations, which spread throughout the vast Brazilian territory (…). In turn, the process of massive spatial displacements of rural-urban migrations of our populations and the radical changes in living conditions and exploitation of the workforce did not allow the formation of more homogeneous social classes, capable of a systematic confrontation that could lead to a systematic bourgeois order” (Tavares 1999, p. 457).
- 6.
- 7.
The classical literature on country/city migration in Brazil described this process as a social process in which social bonds held in the point of departure are present in the point of arrival creating urban territories that, despite precariousness and poverty, were more than an agglomeration of individuals. Singer, for example, points out in his well-known study on the theme: “The adaptation of the newly arrived migrant to a social milieu occurs often through mutual aid mechanisms and solidarity of older migrants” (Singer 1975, p. 55).
- 8.
Lessa and Dain so defined the Holy Alliance: “(…) a community and a convergence of interests between dominant capital in orbits of non-industrial capital and a branch system in industrial circuit. They are systematic relations of solidarity in the joint expansion of existing capital in that national space of accumulation, a space that respects a “specialization”, a kind of division of space, in accordance with orbits, by capitals from different sources. This pact is constituted with the presence of the State” (Lessa and Dain 1984, p. 254).
- 9.
One of the reasons for Rio de Janeiro’s low industrial dynamism stems from the huge weight on its structure resulting from sectors that have become obsolete in the successive technological revolutions, as identified by Dain (1990). The famous debate on Rio de Janeiro’s economic drain was enriched by the recent research of Silva (2012) and Sobral (2013).
- 10.
In these works, the morphology of the metropolitan territory was thus described: core: the commercial and financial central area—old historic core, which expanded towards the ocean edge (the “South Zone”) and to the inner area (Tijuca, Vila Isabel, São Cristóvão and Caju neighborhoods), in addition to Downtown and the South Zone of Niterói; near periphery: suburbs of the axis Madureira of the line of Central do Brasil railway and of the axis Irajá of the old Leopoldina railway, in addition to the North Zone of Niterói. Classically, Barra da Tijuca is included in this space; intermediate periphery: Baixada Fluminense, part of Magé and São Gonçalo; distant periphery: according to the terms used at that time, it would be the conurbation area.
- 11.
We used as symbolic markers of each cycle the creative and relevant metaphors built by Lessa (2000) to symbolize the nature of the process of urban development in Rio de Janeiro in the twentieth century.
- 12.
In the present moment we live the emergence of a new cycle of urban accumulation founded in the recovery of the old central area of the city of Rio de Janeiro, as described by Britto (2015).
- 13.
The concept of the New Professional Middle Class here mentioned is used similarly to the concept formulated by Goldthorpe (1980) in the ‘Higher-Grade Professionals’ category and by Boltanski (1982) in the ‘Cadre’ category. In short, it is worth stating that this is a relatively heterogeneous group in terms of its professional activity, but is cohesive in terms of the position it occupies in the social space. In addition to its high education level, it is characterized by exercising executive functions of command mainly in the private sector, but also in the public sector.
- 14.
It is the understanding of this fact that gives meaning to the famous statement of Francisco de Oliveira, in a text written in 1982 when the urban began to emerge as a political question under the impetus of movements addressed to redemocratization: “I would summarize, stating that nowadays, in Brazil, the urban is the middle classes, that is, cities are par excellence—retrieving the question of outsourcing—under this angle—the urban expression of this new class, where the weight of the middle classes emerge with enormous strength, with enormous gravitation, in view of the type of organization that the international capitalism created when designing its companies within Brazilian society. It is also important from a political point of view. The enormous gravitation of the middle classes in Brazil, seen from another aspect, is one of the bases of authoritarianism of the Brazilian society. From the urban point of view, from its relations with the State and the urban, these middle classes have created demands within cities. And the State today, from the point of view of its relation with the urban, among other important aspects, I point out, is mostly determined by the demand of the middle classes within the city (Oliveira 1982, p. 25)”.
- 15.
See the description of this methodology in Ribeiro and Ribeiro (2013) available at: http://www.observatoriodasmetropoles.net/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=604:e-book-an%C3A1lise-social-do-territ%C3%B3rio&Itemid=167&lang=en.
- 16.
We do not have systematic and reliable statistics on the real estate valuation that took place. Taking as reference the FIPE ZAP index (Economic Research Institute Foundation/ZAP real estate) raised by Cardoso and Lago (2015) between 2008 and 2013, the average selling price amounted to 164.7%, against an increase of 32.5% of the IGP-M (General Index of Prices in the Market) in the period considered. The values of rents for two-bedroom type of buildings (the predominant type) also showed a significant increase along the second half of the decade, which accelerated from 2007/2008 onwards. The rise in prices in Rio de Janeiro, accumulated until 2014, was 137%, against a IGP-M growth of 42.8%.
- 17.
It was a significant expansion of the provision by banks of the SBPE and the housing system resources due to the growth in the issuance of Real Estate Receivables Certificate and creation of Real Estate Funds.
- 18.
An illustration of our argument: the per capita income of a graduated professional residing in Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas neighborhood in the South Zone of Rio is 6 times greater than the income of an equivalent graduated professional residing in the municipality of Duque de Caxias, a typical consolidated suburban space. The dissociation between education, social position and social status in contemporary metropolitan Brazil was competently evidenced on the Doctoral Thesis of Marcelo Gomes Ribeiro titled “Education, Class Position and Territory: an analysis of income inequality in metropolitan regions of Brazil”. See: Ribeiro (2012).
- 19.
Data are from the demographic censuses and were tabulated by Cavalieri and Vial (2012).
- 20.
The inequalities in life urban conditions expressed on this map were estimated through the Urban Well-Being Index (Índice do Bem-Estar Urbano—IBEU) produced by the Observatório das Metrópoles. See: http://www.observatoriodasmetropoles.net/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=642%3Alan%C3%A7amento-do-livro-%E2%80%9C%C3%ADndice-de-bem-estar-urbano-%E2%80%93-ibeu%E2%80%9D&Itemid=167&lang=pt.
- 21.
The Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (MRRJ) comprises 20 municipalities containing a total of 338 weighting areas and a population of 11,872,164 inhabitants, but with very heterogeneous urban well-being characteristics.
- 22.
See, for example, Marques (1998).
- 23.
The concept of oligarchic wealth was created by Roy Harrod and used by Hirsch (1976) to formulate a theory about the social limits to growth. There would be, according to the author, two different types of wealth referred to as “democratic” and “oligarchic”. The first type is the dominance over resources that, in principle, are available to everybody in a direct relation with the intensity and efficiency of his/her efforts. Oligarchic wealth, on the other hand, has no relationship with efforts and is never available to everybody.
References
Abreu MA (1987) Evolução Urbana do Rio de Janeiro. IPLANRIO/Jorge Zahar, Rio de Janeiro
Alves F, Franco Junior, FC, Ribeiro LCQ (2008) Segregação residencial e desigualdade escolar no Rio de Janeiro. In Ribeiro LCQ, Kaztman R (ed) A Cidade contra a Escola. Segregação Urbana e desigualdades educacionais em grandes cidades da América Latina. Letra Capital/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro, pp 91–118
Arend M (2012) O Brasil e o longo século XX: condicionantes sistêmicos para estratégias nacionais de desenvolvimento. Available at: http://www.gpepsm.ufsc.br/html/arquivos/Texto_para_Discussao_2012-n1_Arend.pdf.2012. Accessed 18 Feb 2014
Boltanski L (1982) Les Cadres. La formation d’un groupe social. Editions Minuit, Paris
Bourdieu P (1979) La Distinction. Critique social du jugement. Editions Minuit, Paris
Britto AL (2015) A gestão do saneamento ambiental: entre o mercado e o direito. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 484–514
Britto AL, Porto HR (2000) Universalização e privatização: os dilemas da Política de Saneamento na Metrópole do Rio de Janeiro. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) O Futuro das Metrópoles: Desigualdades e Governabilidade. Editora REVAN/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro, pp 457–478
Cardoso AL, Lago LC (2015) Dinâmica imobiliária: Estado e o capital imobiliário. In Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, 320–353. Available at: http://transformacoes.observatoriodasmetropoles.net/livro/rio-de-janeiro/. Accessed 14 Jan 2016
Castel R (1995) Les Métamorphoses de la Question Sociale. Une chronique du salariat. Fayard, Paris
Castells M (1972) A questão urbana. Paz e Terra, Rio de Janeiro, 1983. 4ª Ed.
Castells M (1975) La Question Urbaine. François Maspero, Paris
Cavalieri F, Vial A (2012) Favelas na cidade do Rio de Janeiro: o quadro populacional com base no Censo 2010. Coleção Estudos Cariocas, Rio de Janeiro, n. 20120501
Corrêa FS (2011) Conexões eleitorais, Conexões territoriais: as bases socioterritoriais da representação política na metrópole fluminense. 2011. Master thesis (Master Degree in Urban and Regional Planning), Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Dain S (1990) O Rio de todas as crises—crise econômica. Série Estudos, Rio de Janeiro, n. 80, dez
Fernandes F (1976) A revolução burguesa no Brasil. Zahar, Rio de Janeiro
Fiori JL (1995) O Voo da Coruja: Uma leitura não liberal da crise do estado desenvolvimentista. EDUERJ, Rio de Janeiro
Goldthorpe JH (1980) Social mobility and class structure in modern Britain. Clarendon Press (Oxford University Press), England, Oxford
Harvey D (1973) Social justice and the city. John Hopkins, Baltimore
Harvey D (1974) Class-monopoly rent, finance capital and the urban revolution. Reg Stud 8(3–4):239–255
Hirsch F (1976) Limites sociais do crescimento. Zahar, Rio de Janeiro
Kaztman R (2007) La calidad de las relaciones sociales en las grandes ciudades de América Latina: viejos y nuevos determinantes. Revista Pensamiento Latinoamericano, n 1, 2º Epoca, del 15 oct
Koslinski MC, Alves F, Heredia PH, Regis A (2015) Segregação residencial, moradia e desigualdade escolar. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 389–415
Lago LC, Cardoso AL (2015) In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana (354–388). Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro
Lessa C (2000) O Rio de Todos os Brasis. Uma reflexão em busca da auto-estima. Record, Rio de Janeiro
Lessa C, Dain S (1984) Capitalismo associado: algumas referências para o tema Estado e Desenvolvimento. In Beluzzo LGM, Coutinho R (eds) Desenvolvimento capitalista no Brasil: Ensaios sobre a crise. vol 1. Unicamp-IE, Campinas, pp 214–228
Lipietz A (1989) Fordismo, Fordismo Periférico e Metropolização. Ensaios FEE 10(2):303–334
Malerba J (2005) Segregação do Poder, Poder de Segregação. Democracia, desigualdade e participação na dinâmica de acumulação urbana na metrópole do Rio de Janeiro. Master’s thesis (Master Degree in Urban and Regional Planning) Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Marques EC (1998) Redes Sociais e Permeabilidade do Estado: instituições e atores políticos. Doctoral thesis (Doctoral Degree in Social Sciences), Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo
Matela IP (2015) A gestão dos transportes: a renovação do pacto rodoviarista. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 515–543
Mckenzie RD (1970) A comunidade humana abordada ecologicamente. In: Donald P (ed) Estudos de Ecologia Humana. Livraria Martins Fontes, Tomo I. São Paulo, pp 95–110
Myrdal G (1968) Teoria econômica e regiões subdesenvolvidas. Saga, Rio de Janeiro
Nery JL, Costa GHP (2015) “As desigualdades de bem-estar urbano”. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 416–424
Nunes E (1997) A Gramática Política do Brasil. Clientelismo e Insulamento burocrático. Jorge Zahar Editores, Rio de Janeiro
Oliveira F (1982) O Estado e o Urbano no Brasil. Espaços e Debates, n 6
Oliveira RAD, Tavares E (2015) Transformações demográficas: os movimentos da população no território. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 221–254
Porto H (2003) Saneamento e Cidadania. Trajetórias e efeitos das políticas de saneamento na Baixada Fluminense. FASE/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ (1986) Acumulação urbana e a cidade. Impasses atuais da política urbana. In: ANPOCS (ed) Ciências Sociais Hoje. ANPOCS/CORTEZ, São Paulo, p 53–78
Ribeiro LCQ (1997) Dos cortiços aos condomínios fechados. As formas de produção da moradia na cidade do Rio de Janeiro. Civilização Brasileira, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ (2000) Cidade desigual ou cidade partida? Tendências da metrópole do Rio de Janeiro. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) O Futuro das Metrópoles: Desigualdades e Governabilidade. Revan/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro, pp 63–98
Ribeiro LCQ (2002) Segregação, acumulação urbana e poder: classes sociais e desigualdades na metrópole do Rio de Janeiro. Cadernos IPPUR, ano XV, n. 2, ago./dez. 2001 / ano XVI, n. 1, jan./jul. 2002
Ribeiro MG (2012) Educação, Posição de Classe e Território. Uma análise das desigualdades de renda em regiões metropolitanas do Brasil. 2012. Doctoral thesis (Doctoral Degree in Social Sciences), Instituto de Pesquisa e Planejamento Urbano e Regional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ (2013) Transformações da Ordem Urbana na Metrópole Liberal-Periférica: 1980–2010. Hipótese e estratégia teórico-metodológica para estudo comparativo. Reprodução em fotocópia, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ, Corrêa F (2015) Cultura política, cidadania e representação na urbs sem civitas. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 197–220
Ribeiro LCQ, Kaztman R (2008) A Cidade contra a Escola. Segregação Urbana e desigualdades educacionais em grandes cidades da América Latina. Letra Capital/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ, Lago LC (1995) Restructuring in large Brazilian cities: the centre/periphery model. Int J Urban Reg Res 19(3):369–382
Ribeiro LCQ, Lago LC (2000) O espaço social das grandes metrópoles brasileiras: Rio de Janeiro e Belo Horizonte. Revista Brasileira de Estudos Urbanos e Regionais, n 3
Ribeiro LCQ, Lago LCA (2001) oposição favela-bairro no espaço social do Rio de Janeiro. São Paulo em Perspectiva, São Paulo, 15(1):144–154
Ribeiro LCQ, Ribeiro MG (2013) Análise Social do Território: metodologia para o estudo da estrutura urbana brasileira. Letra Capital/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ, Ribeiro MG (2015) In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 163–192
Ribeiro LCQ, Santos Junior OA (1996) Associativismo e Participação Popular. Observatório de Políticas Urbanas e Gestão Municipal/IPPUR/FASE, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ, Rodrigues JM, Corrêa FS (2008) Território e Emprego: segregação, segmentação urbanas e oportunidades ocupacionais na Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro. Anais do XVI Encontro Nacional de Estudos Populacionais. Caxambu-MG, ABEP
Ribeiro LCQ et al (2010) Desigualdades Urbanas. Desigualdades Escolares. Letra Capital/Observatório das Metrópoles, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ et al (2015) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro
Ribeiro LCQ, Silva ET, Rodrigues JM (2011) Metrópoles Brasileiras: diversificação, concentração e dispersão. Revista Paranaense de Desenvolvimento, número 120, p 171–201
Rojas N (2015) “Poder local: clientelismo e deficit legislativo”. In: Riberio LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 427–454
Santos C, Bronstein O (1978) Meta-urbanização: o caso do Rio de Janeiro. Revista de Administração Municipal, Rio de Janeiro 25(149):6–34
Santos Junior OAS (2015) Governança empreendedorista: a modernização neoliberal. In: Ribeiro LCQ (ed) Rio de Janeiro: Transformações na Ordem Urbana. Letra Capital, Rio de Janeiro, pp 453–483
Silva RD (2012) Indústria e desenvolvimento regional no Rio de Janeiro: 1990–2008. Editora Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Rio de Janeiro
Singer P (1975) Economia Política da Urbanização. Brasiliense, São Paulo
Sobral BLB (2013) Metrópole do Rio e projeto nacional. Uma estratégia de desenvolvimento a partir de complexos e centralidades no território. Garamond, Rio de Janeiro
Souza J (2004) A Gramática social da desigualdade brasileira. Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais, 19, número 54
Tavares MC (1999) Império, território e dinheiro. In Fiori J (ed) Estados e moedas no desenvolvimento das nações. Vozes, Petrópolis
Vetter D (1975) The distribution of money and real income in grande Rio’s metropolitan system. UCLA, Los Angeles
Vetter D et al (1981a) Apropriação dos benefícios das ações do Estado em áreas urbanas: seus determinantes e análise através da ecologia fatorial. Revista Brasileira de Geografia, Rio de Janeiro, ano 43, n 4, p 457–477, out./dez
Vetter D et al (1981b) A apropriação dos benefícios das ações do Estado em áreas urbanas: seus determinantes e análise através de ecologia fatorial. Revista Espaço e Debates, n 4, p 5–37
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
de Queiroz Ribeiro, L.C. (2017). Metamorphoses of the Urban Order of the Brazilian Metropolis: The Case of Rio de Janeiro. In: de Queiroz Ribeiro, L. (eds) Urban Transformations in Rio de Janeiro. The Latin American Studies Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51899-2_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51899-2_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51898-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51899-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)