Urban restructuring and subcenters: the embryonic descentralization process of economic activities in Viçosa-MG, Brazil

Abstract

From the economic opening of the end of twentieth century, the medium-sized cities have turned their urban roles in the urban network and triggered the transformations in their morphologies, mainly through of the production of new urban forms, as the subcenters. This increment of the intraurban centrality and the respective changes in the central spaces are representative of the urban restructuring process. The present research sought an analysis of the transformations in the city of Viçosa, Minas Gerais State - Brazil, investigating the possibility of classification of activities that focus on the extension of Castelo Branco Avenue, north of the city, as indicative of a new urban centrality, more precisely a subcenter. The work was developed by fieldwork, secondary database, interviews and satellite images.