Infraestruturas urbanas e transformações suburbanas: dimensões políticas e sociais dos espaços pós-industriais e religiosos [Urban infrastructures and suburban transformations: political and social dimensions of post-industrial and religious spaces]

This article aims to understand the transformations taking place in suburbs prioritized by industrialization policies in major Brazilian metropolises. It focuses on analyzing recent changes in the production of suburban space shaped by neoliberal and post-neoliberal principles, associated with the abandonment of industrial parks and the rapid expansion of religious spaces, which add complexity to their spatial dynamics. It adopts an infrastructural approach, evaluating the potential provided by examining socio-spatial connections and interactions that converge and influence everyday life. The study draws on classic references on socio-spatial inequalities in Brazilian metropolises and recent research addressing the socio-spatial and political dimensions of urban infrastructure. This approach reveals the ambiguity of certain suburban spaces as they adapt to territorial contexts, demonstrating their capacity to perpetuate socio-spatial hierarchies while simultaneously fostering new forms of socialization, recognition, and spatial belonging. These dynamics open alternative pathways for addressing socio-spatial inequality.