City-Region Relations: Reflections Based on Studies of City Influence Regions

Abstract

This paper addresses the relationships between cities and their regional contexts, focusing on the cities studied in the  project "Contemporary Urbanization: Restructuring and  Socio-Spatial Inequalities". The aim of the analyses was to  characterize city-region relations, particularly in terms of  centrality within the urban network and the characteristics  of different rural contexts. The results clearly identify a  group of medium-sized cities with the centrality of regional  capitals, exerting strong polarization in their regional  spaces, and a group of sub-regional centers that play an  important role in regional polarization. From the  perspective of rural contexts, there is a great variety of  situations, with cities in regional spaces characterized by  family farming, the integration of agriculture with industry,  agribusiness, extractive rural activities, and pluriactivity;  highlighting the diverse realities of urbanization and land  occupation in Brazil.