PRODUCTIVE STRUCTURE AND SHARED POLARIZATION BETWEEN MEDIUM-SIZED CITIES IN THE CONFIGURATION OF THE PIRACICABA METROPOLITAN REGION

Abstract

This article analyzes the impacts of productive restructuring on the territorial configuration of the RMP, considering the polarization shared between Piracicaba, Limeira and Rio Claro and the influences they exert on the surrounding municipalities. The investigation considers: (i) the regional and urban impacts of the productive restructuring that has affected Brazil since the 1990s; (ii) the recent institutionalization of metropolitan regions and their adaptation to the Statute of the Metropolis; (iii) the strategies of economic groups and public authorities in strengthening regional competitiveness. In the methodological plan, an interdisciplinary approach (Urbanism, Regional and Urban Planning, Economy, Public Policies, Sociology, Geography etc.) and a multi-scale approach are adopted in order to capture the inter- and intra-regional hierarchical functionalities. The aim is to bring an experience from the recent creation of metropolitan regions in the state of São Paulo and to assess whether such action actually corresponded to a measure of territorial organization supported by planning criteria, or whether it was merely a political-institutional gesture.