MEDIUM-SIZED CITIES: FROM THE MULTIPLICITY OF DEFINITIONS TO THE SEARCH FOR THRESHOLDS

Abstract

Medium-sized cities have been presented as an important research topic in urban studies. Transformations in transportation and communication systems have allowed greater agility and acceleration of spatial displacements, thereby reducing production costs and intensifying the process of interiorization of urban spaces in several countries. The urban networks that result from this process are marked by the diversity of cities, including cities treated in the literature as medium-sized cities. Thinking in this plurality, this work problematizes the notion of thresholds of medium-sized cities. It begins by presenting the epistemological challenges that involve the concept of the medium-sized city. An analysis of the evolution of studies and the recurrent approaches to such cities is then developed. Finally, the notion of thresholds of medium-sized cities is presented as an analytical resource for urban-regional studies.