The Periurban in Latin America: Investigations Based on Socio-spatial Fragmentation and Real Estate Dynamics.

• Grant number: 25/07670-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 08, 2025
• End date: March 07, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: Everaldo Santos Melazzo
• Grantee: Luciana de Mello Battini
• Supervisor: Gustavo Duran
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (FCT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Presidente Prudente. Presidente Prudente , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Facultad Latinoamericana De Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador, Ecuador
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/10102-0 - The production of peri-urban space based on land/real estate dynamics in the municipality of Londrina-PR., BP.DR

Abstract

The periurban remains difficult to define. It is a space marked by ambiguity, as it refers to areas that are neither clearly rural nor urban in the classical sense. The agents responsible for producing urban space in Brazil-especially landowners and real estate developers-act by fostering real estate speculation in cities through the selective creation of land scarcity, which leads to the expansion of urban areas. This process significantly alters the morphology of transitional zones between urban and rural areas. In this context, the starting point of this research considers the importance of investigating this topic, given that transforming rural land into urban land is one of the main processes through which land value is produced and captured. The core issue of this investigation lies in the fact that studies on the peri-urban in Brazil and Latin America more broadly are still underdeveloped, particularly with regard to real estate dynamics. Therefore, the goal is to understand the general elements involved in the production of peri-urban space in Latin America, drawing on literature from Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. In this analysis, real estate dynamics play a central role-especially the orchestrating role of real estate incorporation in alliance with the State, through the development of urban policies. An international doctoral research stay is essential to engage with diverse scholars on this topic and to carry out fieldwork, which will help consolidate information and enable comparative analyses.