SOCIAL AND SPATIAL INEQUALITIES OF COVID-19 IN METROPOLITAN REGIONS

Abstract

The biggest Brazilian cities have undergone important changes in their social structure in recent years. It is an urban area marked by disputes, struggles, and conflicts that reveal the presence of precarious forms of life, work, and housing generated by the capitalist logic of space production. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic built patterns of socio-territorial dissemination that evidenced the presence in cities of social groups of great vulnerability. This text analyzes the impacts of COVID-19 on income inequality and social vulnerability in the main Brazilian metropolitan regions. The Gini coefficient and the percentage of individuals living in households with monthly per capita income of up to ¼ of the minimum wage are considered as main indicators. The methodology includes a literature review of the concepts and categories analyzed and a statistical survey of socio-demographic and economic data sources.