ABSTRACT
Through a fieldwork study conducted on a bus route that traverses various areas of the city of Rio de Janeiro, this chapter illustrates how the lack of trust from paying passengers towards certain indicators of “urban violence” results in the exclusion of specific individuals from accessing urban mobility. These restrictions primarily target people labelled as “pickpockets” and/or “delinquents,” who are perceived as a constant threat to the physical and material well-being of both bus passengers and employees. By adopting a pragmatic understanding of distrust as a framework that shapes behaviours like avoidance and withdrawal towards “suspicious individuals,” this chapter explores how those seen as carriers of violent behaviours are consistently positioned outside the flexible boundaries of bus routes. The individuals who are avoided and expelled bear the burden of being associated with a manifestation of “violence” that paying passengers link to impoverished neighbourhoods and slums. Thus, the analysis focuses on how the perception of “urban violence” materialises, specifically through the establishment of dynamic boundaries for individuals who are believed to embody it. The study relies on empirical research conducted through participant observation and comprehensive interviews, with the findings developed as a Grounded Theory.
