The local city and the interiorized urban network: Assú/RN under analysis

Abstract

The urban network can be understood as a mutual articulation between cities that is established from the flows of people, goods, capital and information. Studies on the urban network have been constituted of the analysis of medium-sized cities, large cities and metropolises; due to this need, studies of local cities has a great relevance to understand the role they play in the urban network. In this sense, this research aimed to understand the participation of the city of Assú in restructuring of the urban network of Rio Grande do Norte. To carry out the research, we used, as a methodology, a brief bibliographic review about the subject based on the works of Silveira (2003), Santos (2003, 2005, 2006, 2013, 2018), Coelho (2013), Corrêa (2012, 2015, 2016), Dias (2000, 2020), Catelan (2013), Bezerra (2016). Then, to think about the insertion of Assú in the Potiguar urban network, the research was based on secondary data such as the offer of services of health (DATASUS); access to higher education (UERN and FACESA); trade and banking services through field visits. Afterwards, we started analyzing the data, to spatialize them, flow maps were prepared using the geoprocessing tool Quantum Gis 3.10 (Qgis 3.10). Currently, we observe that Assú acts as a centralizing city of flows, reflecting its performance in the interiorized urban network of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, thus configuring its spatial organization.