Social pathologies in the great Metropolis of São Paulo: socio-spatial analysis of indicators in the boroughs

Abstract The objective here is to discuss the importance of multi-determined analyses to the management of public policies within the scope of public administration. Using the Census of 2010, we look at the economic and social disparities that existed between the different boroughs of the City of São Paulo by adopting the principal component analysis method (PCA), based on dimensions derived from Social Health Index, an indicator that provides a more complex overview than the Human Development Index (HDI). The multi-determined analysis is based on the notion of "social space" (Bourdieu) and provides a valuable tool for diagnosing the impact of public policies, coordinating the multiple dimensions of social phenomena. We concluded that, by using the PCA method, it is possible to observe how the traditional indicators hide certain subtleties and differences with regard to inequalities between apparently homogeneous territories.