SMALL CITIES INSERTED IN THE NORTHEASTERN CANAVIAN DOMAIN, BRAZIL: SOCIOECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS, CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES

Abstract

Small cities have become an important object of study in the field of Geography due to their quantity, diversity and demographic contingent. In this sense, the objective is to debate socioeconomic aspects, challenges and perspectives of the small sugarcane cities in the Brazilian Northeast. The specific objectives are to demonstrate the studies and the relevance of small cities in the urban network; enunciate different concepts and definition criteria regarding the theme; identify the northeastern sugarcane domain; and describe the socioeconomic aspects of small sugar cane towns, their challenges and possibilities. As a methodology, from the bibliographic review and the reflections developed by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, in Portuguese) regarding the definition of regions of influence of cities and population arrangements, it was defined which were the small sugarcane cities and were raised on them socioeconomic information and analyzed comparatively at the state, regional and national scales. It is concluded that the small sugarcane urban centers have precarious socioeconomic conditions, which are more challenging to overcome, even though possibilities exist.