The Santa Ines and Santa Fe districts in Bogota's historical centre are among the Colombian capital's most dangerous, classified by the local government as Red, Critical or High Impact Zones. This article provides an ethnographic exploration of the complex relations between legality and illegality in these regions associated with fear and danger, whose physical and moral decline are attributed to certain stigmatized groups of people. It describes the informal internal regulations or street maxims, such as no dar papaya ['don't be soft'], and their coexistence with 'social cleansing' practices that reflect intolerance and moralism in the face of difference. Recently the urban reform projects, which form part of the plans for recuperating the Centre, have tried to intervene in these sectors of crime, prostitution and illegal activities in order to eradicate violence and pave the way for future residential and commercial megaprojects designed to improve the real estate value of urban areas.