This article will explore the factors that differentiate ghettos from favelas (shanty towns). The first step will be to discuss their similarities, but it will increasingly point out their differences and special characteristics. In Brazil, the problem of creating spaces of territorial exclusion goes beyond practices that are traditional and commonly held in the more developed regions of the world like Europe, where one can find territories of social segregation based on stereotyped and relative concepts like "race" and/or "culture". Brazil, on the other hand, presents new forms of socio-territorial exclusion based on economic factors and on the appearance of the segregated population living there.