Two childhoods, two neighborhoods, and one city: utopias and dystopias in Brasilia

ABSTRACT

This article explores the experiences of two children in two neighborhoods of Brasilia: the model superblock and the Vila do Boa. We accompanied the children on narrated walks along routes in their neighborhoods that were filmed and georeferenced. Analyses of the route and the children’s narratives enabled us to identify their relationships with places, people, and urban equipment. We then contrasted those relationships with notions of utopia/dystopia present in the system of oppositions created between Brasilia’s Pilot Plan and its satellite cities. An urban sensory ethnography enabled the identification of the similarities, differences, and particularities of each context. Along their routes, the two children presented narratives related as much to utopia as to dystopia. In this perspective, utopia and dystopia are part of the same system. They are not necessarily in opposition; instead, they are amalgamated and compiled through the different meanings the children give to their contexts and relations.

KEYWORDS:

• Brasilia
• childhood
• utopia
• dystopia
• ethnography
• social inequality

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors).

Notes

1 All names are pseudonyms to maintain the anonymity of the participants.

2 Public primary schools provide classes in the morning (usually from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm) or in the afternoon (usually from 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm) in Brasilia. Children attend the park school once a week after or before primary school hours.

3 A state located in the north of the country, in the Amazon Region bordering Bolivia and Peru. It presents relatively precarious social indicators compared to the rest of Brazil.

4 A sport that involves overcoming natural barriers in urban contexts using just the resources of manoeuvring the body.

5 São Sebastião is known for being a violent Administrative Region of the Federal District. In 2018, it was considered one of the four most dangerous regions of the capital in a recommendation made to American tourists by the United States Department of State.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico under Grant 445177/2015-2 and FAP/DF under Grant 0193.001770/2017.