Sapopemba, Brazil

Sapopemba is a crowded neighborhood of São Paulo with a population of 266,715, but don't let that number fool you - this is no idyllic suburb. The 2023 school shooting that left a 17-year-old student dead was a tragic reminder of the undercurrents of violence that plague parts of Brazil. Bureaucracy is also a persistent headache, as evidenced by the illegal firearm at the center of the attack, which its owner had never re-registered. This is a city that demands resilience and a thick skin. Sapopemba is not for the faint of heart.