Intra-urban restructuring of medium-sized cities

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the dissemination of high-income shopping centers and gated communities in medium-sized cities, based on the cases of the cities of Caxias do Sul, Passo Fundo, Pelotas and Santa Maria, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. the emergence of these spaces, on the one hand, is associated with capitalist strategies for the reproduction of capital, linked to large business groups and above all to the real estate sector, which have a potential consumer market in the average city; on the other hand, it indicates ongoing intra-urban restructuring processes. Shopping centers denote new expressions of centrality, in addition to the main centers, while closed condominiums located in peripheral areas represent the dispersion of high-income classes, traditionally located in central areas, promoting the expansion of socio-spatial fragmentation. These facts, together, allow the use of the concept of restructuring, assuming significant breaks in the previous intra-urban structuring logic.