This chapter outlines the general framework of settlement in the “second-generation” suburbs that emerged around Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo from the 1920s onward. Two logics intersect and sometimes conflict within this process: that of metropolitan expansion, accompanied by a socio-spatial division reinforced by urban policies that assigned certain peripheral districts a working-class residential function conditioned by commuting distance; and that of migratory dynamics, which fueled population growth.

Following the decline of international immigration, these migration flows originated mainly from plantation regions in the interior of São Paulo State, from the State of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, as well as from the Northeast. Drawing on the work of urban planners and historians, the chapter retraces the stages of urban production: “beautification” and public-health interventions, partnerships between municipal authorities, land developers, and private companies, and the expansion of built environments intended for the upper classes.

The chapter also highlights the differences between the two cities. In São Paulo, urban policies were designed to maximize labor efficiency in the service of the paulista economy. In Rio de Janeiro, then the national capital, the incorporation of new subúrbios into the city altered the political landscape in ways that became crucial during the 1930 political transition.

The settlement process brought together diverse populations—including descendants of Europeans, Afro-descendants of the last generations affected by the transatlantic slave trade, and migrants from the Northeast—whose migratory experiences and relationships to the legacy of slavery differed significantly. It is from this comparative perspective that the formation of Madureira and Casa Verde can be understood.