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Network territorialization and the Amazon urban space production: Terra do Meio, one case study

Thesis under development!

Abstract

The increase of the Brazilian urbanization rate has had a great impact on urban spaces in the last fifty years. There have been a lot of studies on this topic from different fields of expertise which contribute to understanding urban problems and help find solutions for them. However, very little is known about the origin, growth and problems in contexts such as the Amazon urban space, as most researches focus on a metropolitan context.. The urban space in the Amazon assumes distinct forms from other Brazilian urban centers due to its distinctive territorialization. The unique Amazon urban space can be explained by its long isolation period from the national economy (until the sixties) and by its fast integration with it. In this sense, the recent transformations of the capitalist model (transition from financial capitalism to informational capitalism) reflect on the Amazon region in different ways. Among these transformations there is a new spatial form, the space of flows, a non-contiguous space that articulates places with different hierarchical positions in global production, consumption and circulation systems. The dynamic of this space depends on technical networks (transportation, communication, e.g.) and social networks (non-governmental organizations, multinational enterprises, financial institutions, government agencies) which change the places of this space or introduce new areas to it. For the Amazon region, the creation and the expansion of technical networks was one of most important Brazilian State strategies to incorporate (territorialization) forest areas to the national territory. Technical networks support the planned territories such as agrarian reform settlements, investments in private companies and development projects. These networks encouraged the creation of new settlements and the modification of form and role of many others. Given this context, questions arise: are there patterns of changes in technical networks which may be associated with changes in the urban Amazon? If so, how can they be identified, characterized and measured? Can these patterns be related to theoretical models of urban space formation currently existing for the Amazon? To answer these questions, this study aims to find out how technical and social networks can contribute to formation and differentiation of urban space in the Amazon. To develop this work we will use three theoretical contributions: extended urbanization, territory-network and complex network measures and models. In the Extended urbanization concept the key idea is the urban life model not the population size or the number of urban functions. Thus this concept can put together various types of urban centers that are important in the Amazon region. The territory-network is a territory formed by zone areas, which are important points of connection between technical and social networks, it is a non-contiguous space. Finally we will use measures and models of complex network to represent the Amazon urban space. The selected study area is Terra do Meio located in the south region of the Pará state, which is one of the most dynamic regions of the Amazon, and, therefore, has been experiencing intense territory transformation.

Methodology

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