Morphology and agents of urban transformation: a case study in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil

Abstract

The study aims to propose a method of analysis that promotes a clearer perception of the spatial transformation resulting from the action of certain social groups to shape the urban space according to their interests. The territorial transformation related to the role of different agents is investigated, through urban morphology, in order to understand the correlation between the Brazilian urban form with public management and the direction of public investments. To analyze how the city is shaping over time, the work was structured from a case study, which mapped the urban transformations of the municipalities of Cuiabá and Várzea Grande, during the 2006-2021 interval. The method adopted by the research proposes as tools for investigating the territory: the conception of thematic cartographies through the comparison of aerial images from Google Earth, the establishment of analysis categories that allow the identification of the different types of building transformations preponderant of the urban blocks and the main interventions on the road system and the impact of important events that occurred in the cities in the period studied. A quantitative analysis is presented, with the approximate values of areas in hectares (ha), which represent the categories of analysis indicated. As a result, it can be seen, through the maps, that the relationship between the different forms of urban land occupation and the road infrastructure implemented ends up reinforcing the process of socio-spatial segregation. It is concluded that the proposed method, combined with historical and socioeconomic studies, manages to reconstitute urbanization processes in order to understand them in order to intervene in the reality of our cities.