The Flâneuse in the neighborhood: moralities, negotiations, and conflicts in the public squares of Viçosa/MG

Abstract

This paper views public squares as spaces of both coexistence and conflict, where the hierarchies present express their ambiguity. It analyzes the usage of four squares in Viçosa, Minas Gerais, located between the center and the periphery, understanding that although these spaces are permeated by implicit rules that define who can occupy them and under what circumstances, although they are designed for democratic experiences. These rules express symbolic boundaries, which, also constructed by gender, age, race, and class, make the squares segregated spaces. Through a reflection on the right to the city, the article analyzes rules and subversions in public spaces. In this process, it concludes that reimagining uses and challenging rules is also a way of producing the city, promoting new forms of sociability and collaboration, especially through resistance techniques such as the flâneuse’s path.