Territory, Social Question and Urban (In)Security: Applied Public Policies and Challenges for Social Work Intervention in Niterói and Rio de Janeiro

This paper analyzes urban (in)security as a contemporary expression of the social question, adopting a critical approach that articulates territory, armed territorial control, and public policies. The study presents a comparative analysis between the municipality of Niterói and the city of Rio de Janeiro, examining territorial specificities, security governance models, and their impacts on access to social rights. Grounded in historical-dialectical materialism and in the critical tradition of Social Work, the research engages with classical authors from Social Work and the social sciences, understanding urban violence as a socially produced and territorially situated phenomenon. The methodology combines an expanded bibliographic review with documentary analysis of official public data, with particular emphasis on institutional sources from the Municipality of Niterói, especially the Pacto Niterói Contra a Violência, the Municipal Secretariat of Public Order, and public security databases. The findings indicate that public policies oriented toward prevention, intersectoral coordination, and social urbanism produce relevant mediations in reducing violence, in contrast to predominantly repressive and militarized strategies. The paper highlights the strategic role of Social Work in mediating relations between the State, territory, and service users, emphasizing the defense of rights, the strengthening of social protection networks, and the construction of non-militarized responses to urban insecurity, in line with the profession’s ethical-political project.