Milícias and the urbanization of peripheries: a new segregation dynamic in the Rio de Janeiro metropolis
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The article examines the role of milícias in the socio-spatial transformation of Rio de Janeiro’s peripheries, analyzing how these groups have consolidated as urbanization agents in recent decades, through actions ranging from providing infrastructure to developing real estate projects. Based on a bibliographic review, documentary research, and ethnographic investigation, the study focuses on residential developments created or co-opted by milícias and argues that their involvement in this sector establishes arbitrary selectivity mechanisms, which reorganize access to land and housing and generate a new urban segregation dynamic. This selectivity extrapolates purely economic criteria as it incorporates political, religious, and behavioral dimensions, redefines the internal boundaries of Rio de Janeiro’s peripheries, shapes desirable resident profiles, and challenges established notions of popular territories historically associated with economic accessibility.
Source: Cadernos Metrópole
Author: Priscila COLI
Institution: University of California System
Topic: Latin American Urban Studies
Subfield: Urban Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7162800604