This study analyzes the specific conditions involved in dengue transmission in various areas in Itaipu, a coastal neighborhood in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a focus on socio-environmental determinants and conditioning factors. Four areas were selected with similar dengue incidence rates but different urban planning and socioeconomic patterns. The socio-spatial characteristics of each area were obtained through interviews with key informants and systematic observation. Two distinct factors were identified that may potentially condition the risk of dengue transmission. The first related to the limited water supply and scarce financial resources in a lower-income population. The second was associated with a group having better socioeconomic status, which allowed them to store water in larger tanks. The implementation of a housing infrastructure generated by real estate speculation was a determining factor for the creation of socio-spatial segregation, resulting in different forms of receptiveness and vulnerability to dengue. In this sense, the incomplete and unequal installation of housing infrastructure is a determining factor for the differentiated generation of vector breeding sites and thus for dengue transmission.