The Government Of Security: Transnational Security Models And Surveillance Technologies In The City Of São Paulo

Abstract

Recently, public safety in São Paulo has been impacted by discourses associated with the notion of “smart city”. The introduction of camera systems enabled private companies and the municipal government to propose securitary management models that assign increasing individual responsibilities in certain spaces, proposing the intensive use of surveillance. Based on an analysis of the projects “Vizinhança Solidária”, City Cameras and “São Paulo Inteligente”, the aim of this article is to explore how these initiatives leverage new forms of security governance in the city, considering international trends identified by studies in the area: spherization, securitary sociability and surveillance infrastructure. Thus, critical debates on surveillance and multicentric security governance are resumed to identify displacements caused by these arrangements locally.