Subsidies For The Re-design Of The Industrial Location In TheRio De Janeiro Metropolitan Region Through Cooperatives Initiatives

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to indicate some initiatives ushering in changes in the configuration of the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region Industrial Zoning System. During the last twenty years, the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region (RJMR) has suffered many modifications: a high urban concentration process, an increasing number of land conflicts, the construction of important highways and infrastructure devices and the growing deterioration of environmental quality. In this period, the industrial location was based on an industrial zoning developed in 1976. Today, the industrial settlement of the RJMR reflects its disorderly development, shown by tightly clustered industries outside industrial zones, as well as the use of areas defined as industrial zones for other purposes, mainly residential. This scenario clearly indicates that innovative management mechanisms must be sought, based on cooperative initiatives that are grounded on industrial ecology. Through the concepts relating industrial ecology and interfaces with environmental issues, this paper provides inputs for discussions of re-designing the location of industries in the RJMR. In order to demonstrate the application of the concepts outlined above, an Industrial District in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region was selected as a case study.