URBAN-REGIONAL FORMATION AND PRODUCTION STRUCTURE OF THE ALTO PARAOPEBA REGION: A CASE STUDY OF THE MUNICIPALITIES OF CONSELHEIRO LAFAIETE, CONGONHAS AND OURO BRANCO
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The Alto Paraopeba Region, in Minas Gerais, has its first records dating back to the beginning of the gold cycle, between the 17th and 18th centuries, with its formation given in an uneven and concentrated way. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the region was (re)shaped by large industrial projects related to the mineral extraction industry (iron ore) and steel. Aiming to identify some aspects of the regional urban formation of the region and, mainly, the origin of the existing urban relations between the cities of Conselheiro Lafaiete, Congonhas and Ouro Branco, a case study of the region was carried out, in which bibliographical, documental and former researches were carried out. -post facto, in addition to the use of location theories by Von Thünen and Alfred Weber, and the study of the urban network by Walter Christaller, Henri Lefebvre and Roberto Monte-Mór, in order to shed light on the urban-regional formation of the cities under study. over the years. Seeking to analyze the growth of the region's productive structure and possible sectorial specializations, the shift-share (differential-structural) method was used in 1985 and 2019, which showed a trend towards specialization in the mineral extractive sector and a loss in the sector's share industry in the region. A marked and defined division of labor was found in the region between cities, with cities with mineral extraction and manufacturing industries as the main income generators not acting as the central place in the region.