The contemporary process of urban racial segregation in a capital of the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Segregation is one of the main urban problems in Brazil. This phenomenon is characterized by the spatial exclusion of social groups, among them black people, due to various socio-historical factors. In this context, the objective of this work is to understand the contemporary process of racial urban segregation in a medium-sized Amazonian city. Therefore, the methodology used included the characteristics of segregation in Brazil and the object of study, the city of Macapá, located in the State of Amapá, Brazilian Amazon. The research was exploratory in nature by the case study procedure, with data collection based on literature review, historical research and statistical documentary research. The data analysis was based on the systematization and evolution of the notion of urban racial segregation, its causes and effects in cities, as well as on the socio-spatial construction of this phenomenon from urban interventions carried out by the State in contemporary period. The results showed that racial segregation in urban spaces occurs due to the tendency of concentration of the black population in the periphery, reaffirming the center-periphery logic. In the case of Macapá, State urban practices in the 1940s led to the removal of black communities from the Central district, a noble area in the city. The cartography produced showed that the black population is distributed in a diffuse way in the city, however, with a higher percentage of concentration in peripheral neighborhoods. The relevance of understanding urban racial segregation is justified as an alternative to the inclusion and promotion of black ethnic-racial affirmative policies, in the sense of reducing urban-racial inequalities and promoting the right to the city. 

KEYWORDS: Urban Segregation. Racial Segregation. Middle City. Macapá-AP.