01/01/2010

Book Release "Social Networks, segregation and poverty"

On "Social Networks, segregation and poverty" Eduardo Marques analyses the phenomenon of poverty in some Brazilian cities

Nos últimos 40 anos, pesquisas sociológicas apontaram três fatores como principais causadores da pobreza urbana internacionalmente: políticas e ações do Estado, dinâmicas dos mercados de trabalho e comportamentos individuais. Em Redes sociais, segregação e pobreza, Eduardo Marques não nega a importância de tais dimensões, mas investiga as causas da perpetuação da pobreza a partir das redes sociais – conceito que, segundo o cientista social, representa o conjunto mutável de relações de diferentes tipos acumuladas ao longo da vida dos indivíduos.

Versão ampliada da tese de livre-docência do autor, este lançamento – primeira obra de uma parceria firmada entre a Editora Unesp e o Centro de Estudos da Metrópole

Over the past 40 years, sociological research pointed out three factors as the main causes of urban poverty internationally: policies and state actions, labor market dynamics and individual behaviors. In Social networks, segregation and poverty, Eduardo Marques does not deny the importance of these dimensions, but investigates the causes of poverty perpetuation starting from social networks – a concept which represents, according to the social scientist, the set of changing relations of different types accumulated over the life of individuals. There was made an analysis of the phenomenon of poverty in Brazilian cities, by deploying the theme of sociability

An expanded version of the author’s habilitation thesis, this release – the first of a partnership between Unesp Press and the Center for Metropolitan Studies (CMS) - seeks to understand, above all, the operation of the contact networks of the poorest who live in different housing and segregation conditions in urban centers, the relationship between these networks and access to goods and services that can reduce or increase poverty and "the mechanisms by which they influence the living conditions, poverty and social inequalities in daily life".

Besides being based on dense literature, the work is based on the results of a case study in slums, tenement-houses and remote regions of São Paulo. Aiming to cover different situations of urban poverty, Eduardo Marques gathered through interviews about 209 personal networks of individuals at poverty level (each formed by relatives, colleagues, neighbors and friends, among others) for analysis. By way of comparison, 30 networks of individuals from middle and medium-high were also reconstructed. The purpose is to offer the reader a detailed analysis on the role of social networks in the reproduction of poverty - an issue sometimes overlooked in discussions on issues of large cities, sometimes quoted without proper grounding.

Social networks, segregation and poverty is indicated not only to scholars of social disparity in Brazilian cities, but also to those responsible for developing public policies, since these interfere directly in the isolation process that separates the poor people from the opportunities. More than that, the work allows us to understand in a more accurate way the processes that contribute to the reproduction of poverty in daily live and that explain an important part of the resilience of the phenomenon.

About the Author - Eduardo Marques has a Masters Degree in Urban Planning (IPPUR / UFRJ), a Doctorate in Social Sciences (IFCH / Unicamp), is a professor at the Department of Political Science at USP and a researcher at Center for Metropolitan Studies (CMS / Cebrap). Author of articles and books on public policy, inequality, segregation and urban poverty.