O uso estratégico do território: o fenômeno das "dark kitchens" em Belo Horizonte (MG)

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a growing use of apps as a means to carry out basic daily services, particularly for meal delivery. This scenario has fostered the emergence of a new business model known as dark kitchens, which operate as hidden meal preparation facilities within the urban fabric of major cities worldwide. In this context, this article aims to understand how this phenomenon materializes in the city of Belo Horizonte. To achieve this, data scraping (web scraping) was conducted on the iFood delivery platform, extracting the addresses of restaurants listed in its catalog. After filtering 34 addresses, fieldwork was carried out to observe the architecture and operations of these establishments. As a result of the research, locational advantages of dark kitchens in Belo Horizonte were identified, with these establishments being situated close to higher-income areas of the city and major transportation routes.