As redes para além dos rios: urbanização e desequilíbrios na Amazônia Brasileira

Abstract

In the past decades, the Amazonian urban networks have been developing with the emergence of middle size cities and the multiplication of new towns and small urban agglomerations along the main regional roads and rivers. In the current context of global transformation, with the rise of Mobile Networks due the new forms of flexibility and interactivity, the Amazonian urban networks have several characteristics that should be studied with caution, because of some peculiarities that deserve to be explored more deeply. Even though there is an urban hierarchy that seems to be similar to those of other country's regions, with regional and local centers clearly established, the various urban hierarchic levels have different demographic, spatial and socioeconomic dynamics. The fragility of the Amazonian urban networks is related to the creation of barriers for the flows of people, goods and services, such as: a) the long distances that separate the capitals from others towns and hamlets; b) the lack of transportation and communication infrastructure in large areas of the Amazon territory; c) the large proportion of the population without material and educational resources decisive to their active participation in the various kinds of flows. Furthermore, the Grade of Membership model, applied to study the urban hierarchy in the Brazilian Amazon supported by a multidimensional database, suggests that demographic criteria seem to make sense for regional urban hierarchic delimitation, due to the relationship between demographic size and welfare/development in Amazon, contrary to the situation in other regions of Brazil. However, some middle size municipalities in Amazon have different patterns that justify our framework.