“A City Within the City": socio-spatial relations at the Plano Piloto Bus Station

Abstract

This work proposes an ethnographic reflection on Brasília's Plano Piloto Bus Station, articulating the social and symbolic dynamics present in this central urban space. Based on field observations and visual recordings, the research shows how the Bus Station functions as a point of convergence and transit for multiple territorialities, crossing socio-economic inequalities and diverse uses of public space. The study problematizes Brasília's modernist urban project, which sought to segregate flows and functions, contrasting it with the daily social vitality that reframes the Bus Station as a space for coexistence, resistance and the informal economy. The conclusion is that, more than just a crossing point, the Rodoviária is a living urban territory, crossed by disputes and reinventions that tension the rationality of official planning.