A cidade de Chapecó e suas centralidades: uma análise a partir dos subcentros e eixo comercial

Abstract

This study has as main objective the analysis of the decentralization of business activities and services and the formation of new centers from the sub-centers and Commercial Thoroughfares in the city of Chapecó. For this, we recaptured the definitions of urbanization, its relation to the industrialization process, the concept of medium-sized city and the definitions that permeate the complexity of intra-urban space of the cities, in order to situate Chapecó as a medium-sized city that undergoes changes in its urban spaces, exemplified by the creation of new centers. The city of Chapecó, whose development had as main agent the agro-industries located in the county, stood out as the main city in the west of Santa Catarina. For this reason, the city has undergone intense changes in its urban space. Among the changes that have taken place recently, we highlight the intensification of the agribusiness dynamics, the acting of external agents in the city, the installation of a federal university and the implementation of the first shopping center in the city, which resulted in new forms of production and consumption of urban space. Motivated by economic, demographic and spatial growth, the activities related to trade and services have played an essential role in Chapecó, adding dynamic to the space and strengthening the central role exercised by this city. Among the forms assumed by the concentration of commercial activities and services, we prioritize those that are a result of the decentralization process. Therefore, the methodology includes the analysis of master plans and the survey of soil usage that combined with the understanding of the context of formation of new centers and the detailing of the type of activities found in these locations has demonstrated the content of the new centers and the main agents that dictated changes in these locations. It was found that there are two sub-centers and one Commercial Thoroughfares, showing that the centers multiplication trend in medium-sized cities is also visible in Chapecó, although the city has economic, political, social, cultural and historical characteristics that give the new centers a unique role.