Cities in times of (post)pandemic: challenges of urban sociology research in Brazil

Abstract

This article analyzes the urban studies debate on the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazilian cities, with a focus on the sociological discussion about public space and living conditions of the population. Dossiers published between 2020 and 2022 in national journals of urban sociology, as well as important contributions from urban anthropology, were reviewed. The analysis was conducted in three stages. In the first stage, studies on the new forms of urbanity and the crisis of public spaces during the pandemic were reviewed. In the second stage, the concepts and empirical frameworks used by the authors in their productions on the dilemmas of social distancing, denialism, and uncertainties in dystopian urban life in Brazil were examined. In the third stage, the concepts and themes aimed at deepening the understanding of the processes involved in the increase of urban inequality and the worsening of life conditions for a large part of the Brazilian population were analyzed. It is concluded that, despite the suspension of face-to-face encounters, social isolation measures have revealed new possibilities for action through virtual spaces of sociability, work, study, consumption, and access to public services via digital technologies, becoming an essential part of the "public-private" daily life of the city. However, the pandemic has also exposed existing social and economic inequalities, highlighting significant disparities in access to housing, health care, transportation, and the increase in informal and precarious work, as well as the decline in income among the urban population with lower purchasing power.