Stolen Cars

‘Something of an instant classic, Stolen Cars pins its researcher’s sights on the moving targets selected by the thieves and robbers of Sao Paulo’s criminal networks. Those expecting only underworld revelations are quickly re-educated to see how acts of illicit acquisition form part of a more complex and vast urban economy whose shadow embraces both the formal and the illicit. Stolen Cars is a detailed, complex and exciting story with an intellectual energy that matches the turbo-charged vehicles so prized by Sao Paulo’s thieves.’
Rowland Atkinson, Research Chair in Inclusive Societies, University of Sheffield, UK


‘This book should be an instant classic. Theft and crime shape urban livelihoods and everyday experiences in many cities, at the frontiers of often extreme inequality. But these themes are absent from the canon of urban theory. Through a detailed ethnography of car theft in Sao Paulo, Stolen Cars traces the deep ties of these illegal circuits with insurance, finance, auto production and repair, as well as the international drug trade. A highly innovative account of crucial transnational networks shaping urban life and urban economies, this book represents an essential new starting point for global urban studies.’ 
Jennifer Robinson, Professor of Geography, University College London, UK