Contradições da produção do espaço urbano em Pontal do Araguaia-MT

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the role of the main agents producing urban space in Pontal do Araguaia-MT and how these agents impact the city's demographics. In this sense, we sought to identify how land occupation and real estate speculation processes affect the urban configuration and contribute to social exclusion; investigate the impact of public policies and State interventions on urban development, considering the influ ence of neighboring cities on mobility and the local job market. Based on the theories of Milton Santos, Henri Lefebvre and Roberto Lobato Corrêa, the effects of land spec ulation and economic dependence on neighboring cities are explored, which worsen socio-spatial inequalities. The methodology was structured to analyze the production of urban space in Pontal do Araguaia-MT. The research began with a review of the literature on urbanization, addressing the contributions of Corrêa (1993) and Santos (2004). Questionnaires were then applied to the local population to capture their per ceptions about urban transformations, allowing a critical understanding of urban dy namics in the city. The results indicate that interactions between space-producing agents contribute to territorial fragmentation and to the difficulties faced by the popu lation in accessing housing and infrastructure. Finally, the study proposes reflections on public policies aimed at fairer and more sustainable urban development, contrib uting to the debate on urbanization in small Brazilian cities.