At the City’s Threshold: the Caseira Ambiance of Goiás’ Spaces of Proximity

Abstract

This article discusses how spaces of proximity are shaped on a daily basis from the sensory ecology of particular neighborhoods in the city of Goiás, in the Central-West region of Brazil. Focusing on the ambiance and the landscape that prevails in these neighborhoods, as revealed through the sounds and light that imbue these spaces with a particular tone, this analysis examines local women’s mobilities and shared perceptions and experiences. Through their routine trajectories, local women invent new ways to inhabit the city and thus contribute to transforming its landscape. Bringing the senses and the social together, photography is used both as a fieldwork method to capture the visual dimension of everyday life and as a form of knowledge to inform the construction of the ethnographic narrative.