Macrometropolitan dynamics in medium-sized cities

analysis of urban expansion in Atibaia/SP

Abstract

This work analyzes the recent urban expansion in Atibaia/SP, understood as a medium-sized city within the context of the city-region paradigm of the São Paulo Macrometropolis. Based on the understanding of Atibaia’s role as one of the main destinations for rural and natural tourism and, consequently, of the real estate market for second homes in Macrometropolis, a morphological analysis was produced on the growth of the city’s urban fabric between the 2000s and 2020s. The methodology of the work was based on the interpretation of temporal aerial images in the indicated period, from which quantitative and qualitative data on the city’s urban expansion were extracted, as well as on the survey of demographic and income data of the population. The results of the research indicated a growth in the urbanized area much greater than that of the resident population in the city during this period, in addition to a preponderance of the typologies of high-income subdivisions and gated communities aimed at high-income individuals. In this way, this work intends to contribute to the critical urban and regional studies of urban sprawl, segregated, monofunctional and private urbanization, which compromises natural remnants and areas of traditional rural production for the expansion of urban centers of little socio-spatial relevance.