Cidades médias, interações espaciais e desenvolvimento regional: um olhar para o estado do Ceará

Abstract

The present work has as its general objective to analyze the medium-sized cities of Ceará as fundamental agents in the process of promoting regional development in their areas of influence from a multiscale perspective. The methodology has a bibliographical base, making use of exploratory and descriptive methods with quali-quantitative analysis. The period of analysis comprises the two decades of the 21st century. The research locus is the state of Ceará. The classification and the criteria established to define medium-sized cities comprise those with between 75,000 and 500,000 habitants. Thus, 11 cities were defined, namely: Canindé, Crateús, Crato, Iguatu, Itapipoca, Juazeiro do Norte, Quixadá, Quixeramobim, Russas, Sobral and Tianguá. It is concluded, therefore, that the analyzed medium-sized cities have mechanisms to promote the regionalization of development, being strategic points and, in the case of some of them, already consolidated as spaces for the promotion of regional development policies, each one with its spatial dimensions. Moreover, some researches that preceded the REGIC 2007 (2008) already attested that some of these cities could be characterized as medium-sized cities.