A produção acadêmica das Ciências Sociais sobre o urbano em Belo Horizonte e sua região metropolitana em três décadas (1991-2020):

instituições, temas, espaços e tempos

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze thematic, spatial, temporal and institutional aspects of the academic
production of Social Sciences on the urban in Belo Horizonte and its metropolitan region. A survey
of theses and dissertations defended between 1991 and 2020 in the postgraduate programs in Social
Sciences (Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology) at UFMG and PUC Minas was carried
out. The academic production analyzed here, of 206 theses and dissertations, is systematized in a
database that contains, in addition to institutional aspects of the investigations, categorizations
regarding the researches’ theme, space and period. The analysis reveals that the city of Belo
Horizonte was the most studied as a whole, followed by studies that focus on smaller spaces, such
as places of residence – in neighborhoods and slums – and places and institutions of the city – such
as squares, schools, museums, and streets. As in municipalities in its metropolitan region, many
spaces in the capital of Minas did not deserve the attention of social scientists. There is greater
concern with the present time, especially the first two decades of the 21st century, when analyzing
the time frame of the investigations. Management and Urban Planning, Crime and Violence,
Vulnerable Groups and Informal Sector, and Culture, Art and Cultural Policies are the thematic
areas with the highest number of urban studies on the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte. This
dialogues with aspects of the balance and trends of this field of knowledge and Social Sciences in
Brazil and with the country's sociopolitical contexts.