Demographic dynamism and instabilities in the Brazilian Amazon’s urban nets

Douglas Sathler, Fundação João Pinheiro (FJP/MG)
Roberto Monte-Mór, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)
José Alberto Carvalho, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)

The opening of major highways in the frontier areas, after the 1960’s decade, stimulated a differentiated occupation pattern in the Legal Amazon, under the influence of the flow intensification between the main centralities belonging to a great “road arch”. Stimulating this type of occupation offered several logistic and location advantages, unlike what occurred around the Region’s main fluvial paths. The present study seeks, at first, to offer some empirical evidence on the recent demographical transformations in the Amazonian municipalities. For this, the information obtained from Geometric Growth Rates (GGR), migration rates and distribution of Active Age Population in the Legal Amazon were put to use. Furthermore, the study seeks to explore some aspects related to the recent transformations in the dynamism of the regional flows, not only concerning migratory movements but also the information and merchandise circulation under the perspective of Amazonian urban nets. In order to accomplish this task, the study uses information published in the “Influence Regions in the cities 2007” (2008) and, finally, the Centrality Indicator (CI) is presented, formulated from own methodology with the goal of complementing the suggested analyses. It seems clear that Manaus has its condition as regional articulator harmed by its unfavorable location within the Amazon and distant from the main road axles of the Region. In this case, the centralized positioning of Manaus in the Amazon creates several conflicts for this great city’s centrality in the net. In a more favorable situation, Belém, due to its eccentric geographic location, situated in the extreme north of the eastern Amazon, is also incapable of playing the articulating role of the Amazonian urban nets, which would be fitting to a regional metropolis of its size.