Study of urban land structure in Ponta de Pedras, Pará

• Grant number: 11/09296-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2011
• End date: November 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Urban and Regional Planning
• Principal Investigator: Sandra Maria Fonseca da Costa
• Grantee: Jessica Andretta Mendes
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IP&D). Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Recently, the Amazon region has been through several changes, including the intensification of the urbanization process, reflected in the number of cities with less than 20,000 inhabitants. The urban network produced is still being restructured nowadays, with a strong connection between rural areas to urban areas in this network, linking small towns to large and medium cities, with greater intensity of movement of the population seeking services and economic opportunities (Costa et al, 2009). According to Oliveira and Schor, (apud Costa et al., 2009), these small towns, which are very dependent on public resources, have poor infrastructure and lack basic infrastructure, and social services. The city of Ponta de Pedras, located in Para State, the study area of this project, is considered a small city and has the problems described. Açaí production has become the main source of income for its riverside population and also for a large number of urban residents, traders, and farmers, which has stirred the "land market" in the city. It is known that urban land ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few traditional families, however, do not have any idea how was the process of land and property fragmentation. In this sense, the aim of this project is to analyze and discuss the process of fragmentation of urban land in Ponta de Pedras, using information already collected from questionnaires applied to residents (julho de 2010), data collected in the municipality notary's office and in the urban cadastre. It is also intended to verify the main actions of the government, in their different spheres, in relation to the land regularization process, contributing to studies of small towns in Northern Brazil.(AU)