New metropolization trends in medium-sized cities in Brazil: a case study in the State of Rio Grande of the possible Metropolitan Region of Passo Fundo - RMPF

Abstract

The metropolization project in medium-sized cities becomes a new reality in Brazil, as public policies encourage the approval of bills aimed at creating metropolitan regions. The general objective of the research is to analyze the spatial configuration of the viability or impossibility of metropolization of the RMPF. Methodologically, the spatial configuration of the RMPF was analyzed, using the method of spatial syntax of the road network of the 23 municipalities of the RMPF. The Research was carried out with the segment leaders of the 23 municipalities that make up the RMPF project. For data collection, 159 segment leaders (industrial, education, health, banking, employment and architects and urban planners) were interviewed about the possibility of Passo Fundo becoming a metropolis. The data were treated statistically by the linear regression mathematical model. The results of the possible Metropolization Characteristic (CM) of the RMPF, on a scale of 1 to 10, presented the value of 4.1438, indicating that the metropolization project presents weaknesses. The constitution of metropolization in medium-sized cities requires more than a regulatory framework and objective conditions, it requires a social and political construction.

Keywords:
Metropolization; Medium cities; Spatial syntax; Segment leaders