Urban territories of crack use in Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais, Brazil

An analysis of “Cracolândia” under the ecological perspectives of crime

Abstract

We propose an analysis of the formation of urban spaces for the use of crack and other illicit drugs in the Lagoinha neighborhood, central Belo Horizonte, capital of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Known as “Cracolândias”, these territories are analyzed from the perspective of the ecology of crime, which raises the question about the distribution of deviations and crimes in urban centers. The study has quantitative data and a qualitative research of the neighborhood in question, which serve as a basis for knowledge of this complex social reality.