Por onde caminham as mulheres?: um estudo sobre os percursos cotidianos de mulheres diaristas em Belo Horizonte

Abstract

This research aims to understand how the urban planning and production of urban space affect women's lives in a sexist way, especially those who are the poorest and who live in peripheral settlements. Therefore, seven case studies of women who work as housekeepers and live in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte (RMBH) were conducted, based on interviews along their commuting travels between work and home. The research addressed three aspects of the relationship between these women and their urban experience: reproduction work, urban mobility and everyday space. From the analysis of interviews and commuting journeys, it was concluded that a key element in the consolidation of the precariousness of the lives of these women is the space where they live and pass by. It is through the space that metropolitan distances materialize and it is on the space that public resources and investments are unequally distributed. In the urban mobility matter, it was found a prevalence of investments to attend flows demanded by solely by productive activities in both public transport and mobility policies, disregarding the diversity of routes and activities in the urban space. The routes of the interviewed women are composed mainly by small stops and various transport modal changes. Thus, they are not assisted by the current logic of mobility policies and face more exhaustive and longer commuting. Regarding the daily space, it was revealed that all seven women live in popular housing developments in peripheral regions of RMBH, poorly assisted by precarious essential services and urban infrastructure. It was clear that these residential areas were designed to maximize profit and with little concern about stimulating life quality for its residents. This scenario largely complicates the fulfillment of simple reproduction activities, imposing women a tiresome routine of shifts to nearby regions or Belo Horizontes CBD to meet their household needs. Also, it impedes contact and organization among neighbors, who might share collective demands with them. Finally, it was found that, on an individual level, small gestures of strength and creativity are vital to make the everyday less expensive in terms of energy and money. Their bodies, often placed in vulnerable situations, can also reveal power to oppose the obstacles presented in the urban space.