SMALL CITIES OF THE DELTA OF AMAZON RIVER: CHARACTERISTICS AND URBAN TYPOLOGIES

• Grant number: 17/24975-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): August 24, 2018
• Effective date (End): August 23, 2019
• 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 Brondizio
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (IP&D). Universidade do Vale do Paraíba (UNIVAP). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Indiana University, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/21725-9 - SMALL CITIES OF THE DELTA OF AMAZON RIVER: CHARACTERISTICS AND URBAN TYPOLOGIES, BP.DR

Abstract

The intensification of the process of urbanization of the Amazon region in the last 40 years resulted spatial and social transformations. This process, that incorporated distant areas of the core areas to the process of urbanization, was responsible for re-structuring these cities. The cities of the Amazon region, predominantly, consists of small cities and they have fragile infrastructure and are deeply dependent on public income and on the forest resources. In spite of these "urban spaces" of the Amazon Region seems homogeneous, they are very different and have many particular characteristics. Many of these cities are strongly connected with forests and some cities have economical links with the industry, or services. The cities located in the Amazon River Delta have a hierarchy according to population size and necessities. However, it was not possible to characterize these cities, or even aggregate them, in terms of characteristic, urban form, urban morphology or the context they are inserted. In this sense, the objective of this project is to analyze the spatial differentiation of small cities of the Delta Region, and emphasizing the spatial transformations that occurred between the 1990 and 2014, considering the social-spatial dynamic occurred along this period. This research proposes to establish an urban topology. Samples of cities in different topologies (patterns) will be selected to analyze in detail these cities, such as, for instance: the one oriented along a river, in which economy is linked straightly to the resources of the forest, and riverside pattern, with resources originates from the industry. This research intends to contribute to the discussion as about this particular urban reality, which contains paradoxes between the different cities, and can contribute with the Brazilian urban public policies