The urban development experienced in the first decades of the 20th century in Bangu, a neighborhood located in the suburbs of the western zone of Rio de Janeiro, was often understood as a direct result of the establishment of the Companhia Progresso Industrial do Brasil in the region in 1889. From a different perspective, this dissertation investigates the process of occupation and consolidation of the neighborhood based on the experiences of its various groups of residents, whether those who already lived in the area when the factory was founded or those who arrived later to work there. Throughout this period of urban affirmation in the neighborhood, this work seeks to understand how the residents of Bangu, in their diversity, were active agents in transforming and consolidating the territory, appropriating it in different ways. To achieve this goal, we will analyze both the disputes between the workers and the factory management and the tensions and conflicts that marked the collusion of different groups in that territory - in order to better understand how the social construction of Bangu took place from perspectives that go beyond those of the factory and its directors.