Small cities in the Amazon: paradoxes between urban and rural areas: a study of Barcarena, Pará, Brazil

• Grant number: 14/02069-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: August 25, 2014
• End date: December 24, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Urban and Regional Planning
• Principal Investigator: Sandra Maria Fonseca da Costa
• Grantee: Monique Bruna Silva Do Carmo
• Supervisor: Eduardo Sonnewend Brondízio
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IP&D). Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Indiana University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/25510-9 - SMALL TOWNS IN THE AMAZON REGION - URBAN AND RURAL PARADOXES: A STUDY OF BARCARENA, PA, BP.MS

Abstract

The acceleration of urbanization process in the small cities of the Amazon in recent decades has transformed the regional and local setting of these cities, causing transformations in the socio-spatial and environmental relationships. These alterations in the Region of both urban and rural space have occurred more intensely since the 1960s. According to Costa et al. (2010), the urban Amazon is dominated by small urban centers, which have poor infrastructure and an economy heavily dependent on public resources. Despite this dominance, these cities are quite heterogeneous; some cities are heavily dependent and connected to forest resources and other cities linked to the market and industrial economy. Barcarena is a small city located in the Amazonian state of Pará and part of the metropolitan area of Belém. The city has a constant dynamic in relation to both urban and rural population. Despite having a larger rural population than urban, its economy is driven by manufacturing, which arouses curious paradox. Therefore, this project, which is part of a larger study on small Amazonian cities, aims to study the importance of the city of Barcarena, PA, located at the mouth of the Amazon River, in the urban network of the Amazon region. We intend to analyze aspects that are transforming the urban space of this city and the structural agents of space responsible for these changes. In addition, this study will exam the importance in the urban network in socioeconomic terms. This city was chosen for study because of the great urban and rural dynamics, both of which have been shown to be significant for the regional economy and are fundamental to understand existing counterpoints between urban and rural areas, allowing interpretation of typology that will provide understanding of the profile of the city dwellers and their economic activities. (AU)