O centro principal de Juiz de Fora-MG: estrutura, dinâmicas e a centralidade expressa pelas galerias comerciais

Abstract

This dissertation aims to understand how the main center of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, maintains its urban centrality in the face of the emergence of new dynamics, analyzing its territorial dynamics and the concentration of services, flows, and commercial structures in Planning Unit C2 - Center of the Central Planning Region. The guiding question for this investigation is: how does the concentration of shopping malls in the main center of Juiz de Fora reveal strategies of resistance of the traditional centrality in the face of contemporary dynamics of urban reconfiguration in medium-sized cities? The research is based on the hypothesis that the density of shopping malls, combined with the persistence of specialized services and diverse flows, sustains the traditional centrality, even in the face of decentralization processes observed in other medium-sized Brazilian cities. Using a qualitative approach and grounded in spatial analysis and empirical observation, the work conducts a Systematized Literature Review and investigates field data, photographic records, cartographic analysis, and official documents. The spatial focus is on UP-C2-Centro, and the temporal focus is anchored since 1980, observing recent transformations in the forms of urban centrality. The specific objectives include: the historical and morphological characterization of the main center; the mapping and analysis of shopping malls and their relevance to the centrality; the identification of new centralities and vectors of urban expansion; and the comparison between the dynamics of the traditional center and emerging areas. The results show that, despite trends toward spatial dispersion, the main center of Juiz de Fora sustains itself as a hub for urban space, both through symbolic power and practical functionality, with shopping malls acting as key elements of resistance and reconfiguration of the centrality. In this sense, the work contributes to the debates in Urban Geography on medium-sized cities, downtown areas, and urban morphology, reaffirming the importance of localized analyses sensitive to territorial specificities.