A Geografia dos pequenos comércios em área de risco social

Abstract

The Zumbi dos Palmares neighborhood in Manaus, Amazonas, faces significant challenges that limit its development, including technological backwardness, high rates of poverty, crime, and social inequality. This study focused on Sectors I and III of the neighborhood to analyze the process of territorialization of small businesses in socially at-risk areas, investigating their importance to the local economy and the livelihoods of residents. The research addressed the relationship between small businesses, urban vulnerability, and social resistance in this area known as Rip-rap in Manaus, Amazonas. The research is qualitative, based on a survey of secondary sources, both bibliographical and documentary; primary sources, through direct observation with photographic records and conversations with merchants and residents. Despite being a solution for income generation, small businesses are not just an activity, but a survival strategy. This means that, in contexts of social vulnerability and a lack of formal job opportunities, selling products or providing services informally becomes the primary, or only, way to guarantee income for these families. It's an economic alternative to mitigate the difficulties of the formal job market, which requires qualifications, experience, or limited available positions. The research showed that small, informal businesses are survival strategies for many people. They generate income, but they come with many challenges, such as the lack of labor rights, the risk of inspection, and the absence of government support. Furthermore, the study highlighted how the need to sell transforms space, streets, and alleys, and they become improvised points of sale, demonstrating the ability of traders to adapt creatively even in unfavorable environments. Thus, risk areas like rip-rap not only reveal the challenges posed by urban precariousness but also highlight strategies of resistance and reinvention of economic life by residents, who transform these places into spaces of survival, work, and belonging.