Abstract
According to international statistics, nearly 50% of the world’s urban population live nowadays in cities of less than 500,000 inhabitants. These small and medium-sized cities play a role of intermediation between rural regions, local economy and more extensed urban networks, with three spheres of influence: micro-regional, national and international. In many of these “intermediate cities”, the main problem to reinforce them in their action is a lack of financial and human resources for managing the city in a comprehensive way, in order to tackle the demographic and spatial extension of these urban settlements, and avoid an increase of social segregation and fragmentation of territory. The example of Montes Claros, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, helps us understand how a city of nearly 400,000 inhabitants, at the center of an economically prosperous region, tackles these issues through a current process of urban planning, having to take into account its historical, social and spatial context. Like most Brazilian and Latin American cities, Montes Claros-which acts as a transit hub at the State and national levels-is a rapidly growing intermediary city that has seen continued economic growth over the past two decades. However, this industrial and business growth has not resulted in a more inclusive distribution of the urban population. Considering the resulting growth from rural migration and new urban residents, the urban area of Montes Claros remains fragmented territorially, with neighborhoods more or less well equipped and served by public transport depending on the socio-economic status of their inhabitants. The current process of urban planning raises many issues, among them three crucial elements to improve in order to re-introduce planning as appropriate approach and instruments able to guide the decision makers towards the future of a city and its region: a medium and long-term vision for Montes Claros, its hinterland and the Northern region of Minas Gerais; a biased perception of Montes Claros in which only the dense areas in the city center are taken into account, with suburban areas still disconnected from the rest of the city and poorly integrated; a participatory process of urban planning involving all stakeholder and population, from the diagnostic till the definition of priorities in terms of urban policies, strategies and investments.
Highlights
The concept of “intermediary city” was, until recently, seldom used to talk about the changes taking place in less known, less studied, medium-sized cities all over the world
As urban centers of rural regions, intermediary cities like Montes Claros play a key role in the rural-urban relationship balance, both as service providers for the entire population, from producers to consumers (Satterthwaite & Racodi, 2003)
Like most Brazilian and Latin American cities, Montes Claros-which acts as a transit hub at the State and national levels-is a rapidly growing intermediary city that has seen continued economic growth over the past two decades and, according to statistics, a gradual decrease in poverty
Summary
The concept of “intermediary city” was, until recently, seldom used to talk about the changes taking place in less known, less studied, medium-sized cities all over the world. These cities prove more competitive than larger cities and, like the latter, benefit from major network supply (roads, telecommunications, etc.) Given their demographic growth and economic potential, intermediary cities are critical for their regions, governing the economic flows that innervate and circumscribe migration from rural areas and serving as connection points within the urban network at the regional, national and even international levels. As urban centers of rural regions, intermediary cities like Montes Claros play a key role in the rural-urban relationship balance, both as service providers for the entire population, from producers to consumers (Satterthwaite & Racodi, 2003) This trend is not unique to Brazil, but rather can be observed in all emerging and developing countries, as Klaufus (2010) shows taking the examples of Guatemala and El Salvador. Through decentralization and increasing autonomy, global cities can play a more decisive role at three different levels of territory: as regional decision-making centers, as a friendlier, safer alternative to larger cities and as affordable areas of economic development at national and international levels offering new opportunities for people and businesses (Bolay & Kern, 2016)
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