THE MUNICIPAL DISTRICTS IN BRAZIL: A GEOGRAPHY READING OF JAMAICA AND JACIPORA, MUNICIPALITY OF DRACENA (SAO PAULO/BRAZIL)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present and discuss the results of our master's research. We made an investigation in the municipal districts Jamaica and Jacipora which main objective was analyzing the economic, social and cultural characteristics generated in the spatial organization of the municipal districts resulting from changes in the regional agricultural sector. The research stages included literature review, systematization of secondary data, field research (observation, questionnaires, and interviews) and analysis of the data and information produced in those steps. Beyond the formal aspects of the districts, we explored the changes in the regional agricultural sector after the coffee crisis between the 1970s and 1980s. We verified that, because of changes in land structure and in labor relations, the districts have become spaces, mainly, intended for residential use for the population employed in the services sector in the city of Dracena. There was a decrease of the population living in the districts, and especially in the vicinity - the dispersed rural areas. The rurality of the districts goes beyond the agricultural sector and its features come from the conviviality, closeness and kinship ties between the residents and also by the strategies solidarity developed by the population in order to achieve amenities in everyday life, improvements and to solve conflicts in the districts.