This article is part of a broader research based and developed on the Fapesp Public Policy, and its fundamental goal was to understand, through their speech, aspects and struggles of life of people from popular social classes who dwell in the suburbs. In this research it was tried to analyze the scholarly representations about the space they live in (the periphery of Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo). The empiric material was raised from a written narration applied to students attending 4th and 5th grades in elementary degrees in the first semester of 2000, in public (state-run and county-run schools) which support the pupils of the suburbs referred in this research: Jardim Progresso, Conjunto Habitacional Avelino Palma, Jardim Anhanguera, Grajaúna, Novo Mundo and Zara including its slums. The texts reveal one of the most cruel aspects of children social exclusion deprived of access to basic life welfare.
representations; children; borough (section or district); social exclusion