Centralidade, centros locais e turismo no Nordeste brasileiro: uma leitura além da hierarquia urbana

Abstract

Much of the research on Urban Centrality, especially in the context of interactions between cities, focuses on tertiary activities (in commerce and services) and follows a predominantly functional, economic, and hierarchical approach. The Central Place Theory, developed by Walter Christaller (in 1933), is one of the main theoretical references in this field of study. However, this theory presents limitations, such as analytical rigidity, disregard for the historicity of places, and the exclusion of other social, economic, cultural and political contents. This highlights the need for new research that integrates more complex dynamics and different horizons of analysis. Our thesis arises in this context, proposing another reading of interurban centrality, conceived and analyzed based on the relationship between society, space, and time (the process of space production); and the changes and complexity of more recent socio-spatial interactions, in a globalized scenario. Within this scope, we investigated this spatial phenomenon from Local Centers – in the municipalities of Cairu, in the state of Bahia; from Tibau do Sul in Rio Grande do Norte; and Jijoca de Jericoacoara in Ceará – and through Tourist Activities and Practices; and we aim to analyze, from a spatiotemporal perspective, how tourism influences the dynamics of interurban centrality in these centers. Methodologically, our thesis was developed based on three major procedural axes, namely: conceptual, theoretical and analytical readings and discussions on the key issues of the research; spatial and temporal analyses (geographical, historical and documentary research) on the places investigated; and empirical research. From this set of actions, we found that these municipalities occupy the lowest levels in Brazil's urban hierarchical system; at the same time, they are at the highest level in the national tourism categorization. The events that marked these areas, especially their central tourist destinations, created a set of materialities, practices and representations that position them as central points in the spatial plots (or interactions and connections). Although they do not have large commercial and service facilities, these spaces attract diverse, contiguous, inter-scalar and non-hierarchical flows, through their tourist content (attractions, infrastructures and simbols), establishing themselves as centralities. This fact reveals different possibilities of understanding and of apprehension about the importance of places (cities) or their centralities; it shows that this phenomenon can be studied from different perspectives, scales, and contents, broadening the horizons of analysis and discovery.