The process of Northeast urbanization it was mainly characterized by having manifested itself in a way and period different from the other Brazilian regions, beginning in the colonial period and experiencing a relative decline just when the rest of the country intensified the process of metropolization.
In order to better understand how the urbanization of the Northeast occurred – and still occurs – it is first necessary to understand what the expression is. urbanization. This expression designates the growth of cities in relation to the growth of the countryside, that is, there is only urbanization when the growth of population and space in cities is greater than the growth of population and space in the environment rural.
Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the heterogeneity of the space in this region, which is only conceived as a set based on the Brazilian regional divisions that occurred throughout the 20th century. Before that, the Northeast was understood as an area with several regions and activities, having a coast, for example, which was economically more dynamic and an Agreste and Sertão region in a phase of evolution.
As we have already emphasized, the Northeast region was the first to urbanize in Brazil, due to the fact that it shelter the first colonized locations and where the main economic activities were installed Brazilian companies. First, the sugarcane culture was established, consolidating the formation of the so-called “Nordeste Açucareiro”, which contrasted with other regional activities. This context favored the growth of cities such as Salvador and Recife, which were, respectively, the political and economic centers of Nordeste Açucareiro.
From the 18th century onwards, there was a decline in this activity due to the competition in the production of sugar in the Caribbean, which intensified with the economic growth of coffee production in the region Southeast. In contrast, in the 19th century, the Agreste and Sertão strips intensified cotton production and activities cattle raisers, forming the "Northeast cotton-cattle breeder", which led to the growth of some cities in this region.
Throughout the 20th century, the formation of the so-called "Northeast cocoa tree" was established, consolidating the growth which, in particular, favored the development of cities in Bahia, with emphasis on Itabuna and Islanders.
However, in general terms, the Northeast region experienced an intense economic and, consequently, urban decline throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. On the other hand, regions such as the Southeast grew more and more and became urbanized. In this way, precisely when emigration rates in the Northeast increased, urban regions in other locations proliferated. Despite this, some metropolises, such as Recife and Fortalezam, were formed as a result of migrations. inland, in which peoples from the Sertão headed towards the coastal strips that were economically more developed.
Thus, currently, contrary to what happens in other regions, mainly in the Midwest, Southeast and South, which have a sharp drop in its urban growth rates, the Northeast starts to urbanize more and more, increasing the growth of its regions metropolitan areas. This is mainly due to the current stage of industrial deconcentration underway in Brazil.
IBGE data show that, in the 1960s, the rural population of the Northeast was almost double the urban population: more than 14 thousand against just over 7 thousand inhabitants, respectively. In the 1980s, the population of cities finally surpassed the population of the countryside.
According to the 2010 Demographic Census, the urban population of the Northeast is 38,821,246 people, while in rural areas, the number is 14,260,704 inhabitants. These numbers serve, after all, to demystify the idea that the Northeast is essentially rural. Of course, not unlike what happens in the rest of the country, this urbanization is extremely concentrated, mainly in the coastal cities, with emphasis on some exceptions, such as the city of Imperatriz, in the Maranhão.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/a-urbanizacao-nordeste.htm
