A situação da cracolândia nos bairros Santa Ifigênia e Campos Eliseos: um estudo exploratório da visão dos munícipes

Abstract

The research addresses the evolution of actions taken by the municipal public authorities of São Paulo between 2019 and 2023 to reduce drug use, urban revitalization and decrease crime in the neighborhoods of Santa Ifigênia and Campos Elíseos. These areas, located in the central region of São Paulo, were delimited by important roads such as Avenidas Duque de Caxias, Ipiranga and Rio Branco, in addition to Júlio Prestes and Luz Stations, Praça Princesa Isabel, and Ruas Vitória, Helvetia and Santa Ifigênia, forming the region known as “Cracolândia”. A bibliographical research was carried out to identify local problems and security actions, considering the peculiarities that influence the fight against drug use in these neighborhoods. To understand the perception of residents and workers about crime, especially in relation to robberies and cell phone theft, semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using the Iramuteq software. The hypothesis was that the drug addiction problem in Cracolândia caused severe damage to public safety. The main objective of this research was to present an exploratory study of the situation of Cracolândia in the neighborhoods of Campos Elíseos and Santa Ifigênia, demonstrating its evolution over time and the actions of municipal and state public authorities. Furthermore, we sought to know the opinion of citizens who live or work in these areas regarding security conditions. The difficulties faced by the population due to the lack of security were one of the biggest challenges to be overcome by the public authorities. Therefore, it was necessary to adopt effective public policies to combat crime and the uncontrolled use of crack. The research results allowed a detailed diagnosis of public security conditions in the studied area, a better assessment of public authorities' actions in the fight against crime and drugs, and contributed to future public security, social assistance, health and urban planning policies aimed at to solving the identified problems.