Contemporary problems of urbanization and urban development in the Brazylian Amazon

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to determine the pace and regional diversification of the urbanization process in the Brazilian Amazon and to trace the changes in the urban settlement network in this area in the years 1950–2010. The studied area includes currently seven states forming the North Region (Regiao Norte) with an area of over 3.8 million km2, accounting for 45.3% of the country’s area. In the analyzed period, this region was characterized by both the fastest population growth rate and an increase in urban population in Brazil. This resulted in accelerated urbanization processes and the development of urban network in the analysed area. Colonization and the influx of population into the Brazilian Amazon changed its traditional settlement structure. In 1950, more than two thirds of the city population lived in two major cities: Belem and Manaus. In the following decades, with the development of new centers in the colonized parts of theAmazon, a more regular urban network has developed.