Concentração e centralização das atividades urbanas: uma perspectiva multiescalar. Reflexões a partir do caso de São Paulo

Abstract

The vast territorial dimension of the contemporary metropolis is a product of the process of conurbanization that also entails the fragmentation of the territory, which leads to the idea of urban archipelago. This reality is analyzed starting from the discussion on the notion of agglomeration, since it is a fundamental notion for the definition of the urban. Yet, the center of the discussion rests on the need of distinguishing between two concepts to understand urban reality: concentration and centralization of the capital. The text emphasizes, also, the need of multi-scalar analysis. Indeed, besides the topographical scale, it is important to consider the topological scales in the analysis of the contemporary metropolis. The topological scale relates to the immaterial flows, putting the issue of distance in a virtual logic that modifies the notions of the far and near, approximating remote places and separating nearby places