SUBJECTIVITY AND RESISTANCE IN BIG CITIES: AN ANALYSIS OF URBAN DYNAMICS BETWEEN SIMMEL AND VALLADARES

Abstract

This article examines the dynamics of large cities and their impact on modern subjectivity, drawing on the works of Georg Simmel and Lícia do Prado Valladares. Simmel explores the psychological effects of metropolitan life, marked by rapid stimuli and impersonal social relations, resulting in a "blasé" attitude and the objectification of human interactions. Valladares complements this perspective by examining how historically marginalized favelas emerge as spaces of resistance, solidarity and creativity. The analysis highlights the contradictions between freedom and isolation in large cities, as well as the spatial inequalities that reinforce the exclusion of peripheral areas. The article concludes that modern cities, while offering opportunities and challenges, require inclusive urban policies and a critical approach to urban inequalities.