Reestruturação urbana e mudanças na dinâmica e organização da área central de Santa Cruz do Sul - RS.

Abstract

This thesis discusses the productive and urban restructuring of the medium-sized city Santa Cruz do Sul, located in the central region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, in Rio Pardo Valley, focusing mainly on its central area, especially on transformations occurred in this space, in the period from 1990 to 2015. This theme has been approached taking into account the main transformations of the industrial sector, which were evidenced in the city especially with the consolidation of the internationalization of the tobacco industry, as well as by the restructuring, growth and importance of trade and services sectors activities, which became clear from the second half of the 1990s, highlighting the central area and its importance to the city and region. In this process, it was evidenced that in cities restructuring some aspects determined by intraurban and interurban factors are highlighted. In relation to the first ones, the economic activities performed by the city were prioritized. With reference to the interurban factors, it is highlighted the role that the city began to play from the internationalization of the local tobacco industry, as well as the changes in commercial and services activities in relation to its commanding position in the urban network in which it is inserted. About the intraurban factors we can observe changes in the central area, by renewal which became evident by the different uses of the soil in this area in the last 25 years, resulting from the new functions, specifically related to trade and services that the downtown area began to play in the local urban space, as well as in relation to the city´s coverage region, and importance of the city as a regional hub, that occur notably through the dynamics of the real estate market consubstantiated by intense participation of agents producers of the urban area space.