There are, in Brazil, twelve big influence networks which connect even municipalities located in different states. The network centered in São Paulo, for example, also includes part of Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Acre. The network of Rio de Janeiro encompasses the state itself, Espírito Santo, the south of Bahia and the are called Zona da Mata, in the state of Minas Gerais.

The network of Brasília affects the west of Bahia, some municipalities of Goiás and the northwest of Minas Gerais. The other nine influence networks are centered in Manaus, Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Goiânia, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba e Porto Alegre.

 

The data provided by the network of IBGE’s local agencies about 4,625 municipalities were analyzed together with administrative registers of the institute itself and of companies and state institutions. The current configuration of the Brazilian urban network is compared to results of studies conducted by IBGE in 1972, 1987 and 2000.

 

Among the several comparative data collected relative to the 12 influence networks, it is possible to see that, in order to go shopping, the Brazilian population travels about 49 km, on average. In the influence network of Manaus, however, this distance is 218 km. To attend a university, the average distance traveled is 112 km, versus 41 km in the influence network of Rio de Janeiro.

 

The main data in the study about the Areas of Influence of Cities are presented below.

 

The study Areas of Influence of Cities shows the networks formed by the main urban centers in the country, based on the presence of institutions under executive, legislative and judiciary powers, as well as big companies, higher education institutions, healthcare services and web directories. These networks sometimes overcome the official territory division, strongly affecting even cities located in different federative units.

 

To define the centers of the Brazilian urban network, it is necessary to obtain information about administrative dependence, considering the federal public sector, and about the location of headquarters and branches, in order to establish business management. The supply of equipment and services – information about air connections, displacement aimed at hospitalization, coverage area of services, supply of higher education, diversity of trade and service activities, supply of bank services, and the presence of web directories - completes the identification of centers of territory management.

 

In the 4,625 municipalities (among the 5,564 existing ones) which have not been identified as management centers, the Networks of IBGE Agencies answered a specific questionnaire in the end of 2007, which investigated: the main regular transportation networks, especially those which lead to management centers; the main destinations of local dwellers in order to obtain goods and services (shopping, higher education, airports, healthcare services, acquisition of inputs and destination of agricultural products).  

 

 

 

 

Hierarchy of metropolises and centers generate influence networks

 

The influence areas of centers were established according to the intensity of the relationship among the cities, based on secondary data and on those obtained from the specific questionnaire. A total of 12 networks were identified as being at the first level. The cities were classified into five levels, subdivided into two or three sublevels:

 

1. Metropolises – The 12 main urban centers in the country, powerful ones, having solid relationships among themselves and, in general, a wide range of direct influence. They are subdivided into three sub-levels:

 

a. A Major National metropolis – São Paulo, the main urban center in the country, with 19.5 million inhabitants, in 2007, and at the first level of territory management; b. National metropolis – Rio de Janeiro and Brasília, with a population of 11.8 million and 3.2 million in 2007, respectively, are also at the first level of territory management. Together with São Paulo, they consist of a focus for centers located all over the country. c. Metropolis – Manaus, Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Goiânia and Porto Alegre, with a population ranging from 1.6 (Manaus) to 5.1 million (Belo Horizonte), form the second level of territory management. It is possible to notice that Manaus and Goiânia, in spite of being at the third level of territory management, have the profile and national projection to guarantee their inclusion in this group.

 

 

 

 

2. Regional capital – There are 70 centers which, similarly to big metropolises, also relate to the higher level of the urban network. With management capacity at a level immediately below that of metropolises, they have areas of influence of regional range, being referred to as destinations, for a certain group of activities, by a big number of municipalities. This level also has three subdivisions: Regional capital A (11 cities, with medians of 955 thousand inhabitants and 487 relationships); Regional capital B (20 cities, with averages of 435 thousand inhabitants and 406 relationships); Regional capital C (39 cities with mediums of 250 thousand inhabitants and 162 relationships). 

 

3. Sub-regional center – 169 centers with activities of less complex management, predominantly between levels 4 and 5 of territory management; they have a reduced range, and their relationships with centers outside their own network occur, in general, only with the three national metropolises. With the dense presence of areas highly occupied in the Northeast and Central-South, and a more sparse presence in the North and Central West Regions, these centers are subdivided into groups: a. Sub-regional center A – formed by 85 cities, with medians of 95 thousand and 112 relationships; and b. Sub-regional center B – formed by 79 cities, with medians of 71 thousand inhabitants an 71 relationships.

 

4. Zone center – 566 smaller cities, the range of which is limited to its boundering area; they have elementary management functions and are subdivided into: a. Zone enter A – 192 cities, with medians of 45 thousand inhabitants and 49 relationships. There is a predominance of levels 5 and 6 of territory management (94 and 72 cities, respectively), with nine cities in the fourth level and 16 not classified as management centers; and b. Zone center B – 364 cities, with medians of 23 thousand inhabitants and 16 relationships. Most of them, 235, had not been classified as a center of territory management, and 107 other were at the final level.  

 

5. Local center – the other 4 473 cities whose centrality and activity do not go beyond the limits of its municipality, serving its inhabitants only, have a population below 10 thousand inhabitants (median of 8 133 inhabitants). In relation to the elements of analyses, the 802 centers above level 5 encompass 548 centers of territory management and 254 cities with centrality identified according to questionnaires, which were included in the final group. Most of these 254 cities were classified as zone center, but three centers – Bragança (PA), Itapipoca (CE) and Afogados da Ingazeira (PE) – had the role of sub-regional center in their area.

 

Brazil has 12 urban networks ruled by metropolises 

 

At the top of urban hierarchy, there are 12 metropolises controlling urban networks. These networks differ in terms of size, organization and complexity and present interpenetrations, due to the occurrence of connection to more than one center, resulting in a double or triple insertion in the network. A good example is Florianópolis, which integrates the areas of Curitiba and Porto Alegre, or Natal, in the networks ruled by Recife and Fortaleza. For this reason, the sum of values presented for each one of the networks surpasses the national total.

 

São Paulo, a major national metropolis, exerts influence all over the country, and its network encompasses the state of São Paulo, part of the area known as Triângulo Mineiro (minas Triangle) and the south of Minas, reaching out to Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Acre. It concentrates, in the municipalities which form it, about 28.0% of the Brazilian population and 40.5% of the Gross Domestic product (GDP) of 2005. The high concentration is reflected in the GDP per capita, which is R$ 21.6 thousand for São Paulo and R$ 14.2 thousand for the other municipalities of this group.

 

Rio de Janeiro, a national metropolis, has some projection in the state itself, in Espírito Santo, in part in the south of Bahia, and in the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais, where its influence is shared with Belo Horizonte. This network has 11.3% of the population in the country and 14.4% of the national GDP. The GDP per capita is about R$ 15 thousand in the center, and R$ 14.8 thousand in the other municipalities of the network.

 

The population of the network of Brasília represents 2.5% of the population in the country and 4.3% of the national GDP. The extension of this network is also reduced, including the west of Bahia, some municipalities of Goiás and the northwest of Minas Gerais. This network has high population and income concentration in the center, with 72.7% and 90.3% population and GDP of the network, respectively. Among all the networks, this one has the highest GDP per capita, R$ 25.3 thousand.

 

Manaus controls one of the networks with the biggest area, 19% of the area of Brazil, and with the lowest density 2.2 inhab./km2, corresponding to 1.9% of the country’s population and to 1.7% of its  GDP. Similarly to what happens in  the network of Brasília, Manaus concentrates most of the population and GDP of the network, respectively, 47.3% and 75.5%. This concentration has as its effect the great disparity of GDP per capita, which is R$ 10.4 thousand for the whole network, corresponding to R$ 16.5 thousand in the center, Manaus, and R$ 4.8 thousand in the remaining municipalities.

 

The network of Belém, as well as that of Manaus, had low density, 5.5 inab./km², corresponding to 4.2% of the country’s population. In 2005, the network accounted for 2% of the national GDP, with GDP per capita of R$ 5.7 thousand, one of the lowest in the country; in Belém and in other municipalities GDP figures were R$ 7.9 thousand and R$ 4.8 thousand, respectively.

 

The network of Fortaleza, the third biggest one in terms of population in the country (11.2%), accounted, in 2005, for only 4.5% of the national GDP. As a consequence, it has the lower GDP per capita among the networks, with R$ 4.7 thousand, registering, in Fortaleza, R$ 7.6 thousand, and in the rest of the network, R$ 4.1 thousand. With a spread population, only 15.8% of the total population were in the metropolis, which concentrates 25.7% of the network’s GDP. It encompasses Ceará, Piauí and Maranhão and shares the area of Rio Grande do Norte with Recife.

 

The urban network of Recife is the one with the biggest population in the country, with 10.3% of its inhabitants. Of this total, 19.5% are concentrated in Recife. In 2005, the network had 4.7%of the national GDP, and Recife accounted for 29.0% of this amount, with GDP per capita of R$ 8.0 thousand and R$ 4.7 thousand in the rest of the network.

 

Salvador and its urban network account for 8.8% of the country’s population and for 4.9% of the national GDP. Salvador concentrates 22.4% of the population and 44% of the network’s GDP, with GDP per capita of R$ 12.6 thousand, whereas for the other participating municipalities this figure is R$ 4.6 thousand.

 

The urban area of Belo Horizonte accounts for 9.1% of the population and for 7.5% of the country’s GDP. The metropolis concentrates 30.5% of the population and 40.4% of the network’s GDP. The GDP per capita of the center is higher, R$ 12.7 thousand, and in the remaining municipalities of the network it is not above R$ 8.2 thousand per capita. Minas Gerais corresponds to the area of influence of this center, except for the area in the south of the state, connected to São Paulo, and for the shared influence areas – Zona da Mata, with Rio de Janeiro and part of the Minas Triangle, with São Paulo.

 

Curitiba and its network gather 8.8% of the country’s population and 9.9% of the national GDP. In Curitiba are concentrated 18.6% and 23.5% of the network’s population and GDP. The GDP per capita indicates less unevenness in income, even if the center of the distribution is above the rest of the network (R$ 16.6 thousand and R$ 12.3 thousand, respectively), with one of the lowest ratios of all the networks.

 

The population of the urban network of Porto Alegre represents 8.3% of the national total and the GDP of this network is 9.7%. Porto Alegre concentrates 19.2% of the population and 24.1% of the network’s GDP; its GDP per capita, of R$ 17.1 thousand, is relatively little higher that that of the rest of the network (R$12.8 thousand).

 

Goiânia and its urban network concentrate 3.5% of the population and 2.8% of the national GDP. Goiânia concentrates 30.2% and 29.7% of the network’s population and GDP, respectively; it has GDP per capita of R$ 9.2 thousand and is the only case of a center with a lower figure than the rest of the network, R$ 9.5 thousand. It encompasses the states of Pará, Maranhão, Piauí and Mato Grosso.

 

 

Hierarchy of centers has changed in four decades  

 

 

By comparing the urban centers identified in 1966 with those examined in this study, it is observed that the centers which emerged in the period were located predominantly in the states of Mato Grosso, Rondônia and Tocantins, in the west of Amazonas and in the south of Pará. With lower intensity, there was growth of new centers in Maranhão and Piauí. In the areas of more ancient occupation, such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and the south f Minas, there is a more stable scenario, and some cities no longer occupy central positions, possibly due to changes in communications and transportation.

 

The 12 centers currently identified as metropolises (São Paulo, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, Belém, Fortaleza, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Porto Alegre and Goiânia), are practically the same as 40 years ago, except for Brasília and Manaus.

 

The recently-created city of Brasília was classified as a B regional center in 1996. In the study of 1978, it was classified as Regional Capital, and remained under the control of Goiânia ((REGIÕES..., 1987). In 1993, it was considered head-of-network. In 2007, it became one of the two national metropolises of the country. Manaus, under the control of Belém in the study of 1966, became a regional metropolis in the study of 1978.

 

Second-level centers also face change of status

 

At the second level, of Regional Capitals, there are some centers which, in 1966, were classified at the third level, and Sub-regional Centers. Examples of this upward movement are: in the North of the country, Porto Velho (RO), Rio Branco (AC), Marabá and Santarém (PA), and Macapá (AP); in the Northeast, Imperatriz (MA) and Barreiras (BA); in the Central-South, Volta Redonda–Barra Mansa (RJ), Santos and São José dos Campos (SP), Cascavel (PR) and Dourados (MS). More extreme cases are those of Boa Vista (RR), Araguaína (TO), Ipatinga-Coronel Fabriciano-Timóteo (MG) and Novo Hamburgo-São Leopoldo (RS), which have moved from the fourth level to the second one, and Palmas (TO), created in 1989, and also at the second level.

 

On the other hand, second-level centers, in 1966, were at the third level, in 2007. Examples in the Northeast are: Floriano (PI), Garanhuns (PE) and Jequié (BA);in the Central-South, Muriaé (MG), Ourinhos (SP), Pato Branco (PR), Lages (SC), Santa Rosa and Cruz Alta (RS) and Anápolis (GO).

 

The main changes in the period occurred due to the increasing density or to the emergency for networks in territories of little occupancy, and to the strengthening of the role of state capitals, a process already indicated in the study of 1978. Besides, the creation of new urban centers of intermediate level caused subdivision of areas of influence in big centers, between 1966 and 2007. There were changes in the North and Central West Regions. Manaus, which, in a previous period had shared the big area encompassed by Belém, also had its area divided by the rise of Porto Velho, which, by taking the area of Rio Branco, was not linked to Manaus anymore, but to São Paulo and Brasília instead.

 

The creation of the state of Tocantins – and of its capital – changed the structuring of the Goiânia network. Palmas, besides becoming the capital of a new state, shows significant centrality and, although it remains in the area of influence of Goiânia, it has its own network.

 

The area of Imperatriz is now connected to São Luís and no longer to Belém. Recife has its influence reduced, Piauí loses territory for Teresina, and then starts sharing the network of Natal with Fortaleza. The reach of Fortaleza expands towards the East, passing by Natal and by the extension of São Luís and Teresina networks. Florianópolis takes control of almost all Santa Catarina (except of the Joinville network, in the North, connected to Curitiba) and now has a double connection: to Curitiba and Porto Alegre.

 

 

In the Central West and North Regions, trade and service activities were concentrated in capitals

 

 

In 5,275 territory units surveyed, 23 centers are in class 1 of trade, whereas only São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are in class 1 of services. The states of the Southeast are the highlights in terms of diversity and supply of trade and services, especially São Paulo. The sector is also relevant in the South

 

In the Central West and North, trade and services were concentrated in the areas of bigger population density and in the capitals. The Northeast Region presents two distinct dynamics, in the inner part and on the shore, especially in the capitals, for both trade and services. The urban network of this area is strongly influenced by the capitals and the states, based on few centers in the inside of the states, for example, Campina Grande (PB), Juazeiro-Petrolina (BA-PE), Caruaru (PE), Mossoró (RN), Juazeiro do Norte-Crato-Barbalha (CE), Feira de Santana, Ilhéus-Itabuna and Vitória da Conquista (BA).

 

Over 40% of the Brazilian municipalities had only one bank in 2004

 

There are 2,391 cities with only one bank. Among the fifty biggest financial institutions by total assets (Bacen,2004), 32 have their headquarters in São Paulo, four in Brasília, three in Rio de Janeiro, two in Fortaleza, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre, and one in Belém, Salvador, Vitória, Curitiba and Florianópolis. In the Southeast and in the South are located the biggest private banks of national or foreign capital, whereas in the other regions there is a predominance of official institutions, federal and state ones.

 

São Paulo is at the first level, followed by Rio and Brasília, at the second level. At the third level, the highlights are Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Campinas e Porto Alegre and, in the Northeast – Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador. The fourth level, at which are all the banks of national range and a significant number of other institutions, includes most of the other state capitals, and other sub-areas of population concentration which constitute de area of São Paulo, and traditional regional capitals of the Central-South, for example: Juiz de Fora, Uberlândia, São José do Rio Preto, Londrina, Maringá, Joinville, Pelotas-Rio Grande, as well as centers of the size of Santa Cruz do Sul and Rio Verde.

 

Undergraduate institutions in RJ are concentrated in the capital, whereas in MG they are spread in the inner part of the state

 

In 2004, there were undergraduate courses in 1,261 centers, serving a total 4.1 million students, enrolled in 18,644 courses distributed among several fields of knowledge: Agriculture and Veterinary; Social Sciences, Business and Law; Sciences; Mathematics and Computer Science; Education; Engineering; Production and Construction; Humanities and Arts; General Courses or Studies; Health and Social Welfare.

 

Two centers were identified at the first level (São Paulo e Rio de Janeiro) and nine at the second level (eight capitals and the area of Campinas). In 2004, São Paulo had 1.1 million enrollments in undergraduate studies (53.8% in the capital and the rest in the inner part of the state), Rio de Janeiro had 444 thousand enrollments (84.1% in the capital) and Minas Gerais, 421 thousand enrollments (35% in the capital).

 

Although it is a first level center, Rio de Janeiro has the undergraduate institutions very concentrated in the capital. In the North and in the Northeast, it is possible to highlight the big quantity of little municipalities of the inner part which have higher education courses in the states of Tocantins, Maranhão, Bahia, Amazonas and Pará.

 

Capitals concentrate about 70% of the post-graduation courses

 

At the end of 2005, there were 3,325 strictu sensu post-graduation courses, divided into master’s, professional master’s and doctor’s programs. The courses were found in only 109 centers, revealing the concentration of the Brazilian post-graduation system. What calls attention is the great disparity among the numbers of courses by Major Region, with the Southeast Region (1,880) surpassing the South Region by far (638).

 

There are courses in the inner part, although most of them are located in state capitals. The 27 capitals offer 2,284 courses (68.7%), whereas the 82 centers encompass 1,041 (or 31.3%). Out of the Southeast and South Regions, the concentrating role of capitals is even more significant. In the North (112 courses), Belém and Manaus were highlights compared to other capitals.

 

Big traditional regional centers are the highlights in the health sector

 

In relation to health services, the highlights were São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The second and the third levels correspond to the centers which can offer more complex services, being different only by size. In the second one, there are areas of the main state capitals: Belo Horizonte, Recife, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Goiânia, Salvador, Belém and Manaus, as well as Brasília and Campinas. In the third level, besides the ten state capitals (Vitória, João Pessoa, Cuiabá, Campo Grande, Maceió, Teresina, São Luís, Natal, Aracaju and Florianópolis), the highlights were big traditional regional centers, such as Campina Grande, Juiz de Fora, Uberlândia, Ribeirão Preto and Londrina, among others.

 

At the third level, there are centers of lower importance, but more complex services still prevail. Although there is high concentration in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Paraná and Santa Catarina, the third level is represented all over the country, in long-established regional centers, for example, Montes Claros, Joinville, Maringá, Arapiraca, Feira de Santana, Caruaru, Teresópolis, Sobral, Parnaíba and in centers of more prominence, such as Sinop and Palmas

 

About 40% of the municipalities do not have an Internet domain

 

The distribution of Internet domain has striking differences: 2,241 municipalities (40% of the total) do not have any Internet domain. Among the 3,319 other ones which had at least one domain, in March 2005, the distribution was considerable uneven, with half of the, having at least six domains. On the other hand, only São Paulo had 243,927, which represents about 33% of the total domains, followed by Rio de Janeiro (73,209), Curitiba (31,633), Belo Horizonte (28,132) and Porto Alegre (26,944).

 

São Paulo and Rio control system of network TV

 

São Paulo and Rio control the system of network TV, produce and broadcast most of its programs. The system has 171 centers which emit signals, of five different levels, and other 5,036 which only receive the signs which integrate the influence areas. The most connected ones, which receive a bigger number of national networks, are different from those with fewer connections. The coverage areas of municipalities with affiliated TV channels, both national and regional, change by region according to the differences of spatial concentration of population and income.

 

Air connections in Brazil have a limited structure

 

Air connections in Brazil have a limited structure. In the total connections, 32 pairs of cities are responsible for over half of the passengers transported (50.2%), and the cargo transportation has a similar pattern. There is, according to the study, concentration of he volume of flows, especially in the Central-South of the country. 

 

 

Average of distances covered in collective transportation in Amazonas is 270 km 

 

In terms of public transportation, the highlight is the power of attraction of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to distant parts of the Northeast. In the inner part of the state of Bahia, there is another interstate flow, aimed at Brasília. The same happens in some cities of Roraima AND Manaus, in a movement which helps turn the average distances covered from municipalities of Roraima, the biggest in the country. Amazonas is another state in which the average distance covered in trips was over 200 km, being even different from the average of the North Region, which was 107 km.

 

 

Santa Catarina appears with the lowest average distance (30 km), and Florianópolis, with the lowest level of attraction in terms of transportation: only a long flow was registered as the firs destination (departing from Mondaí). Other states with low average of distances covered are Rio de Janeiro (31km), São Paulo (32km) and Alagoas (33km). The national average was 61 km, and below them are only the South, with 36 km, and Southeast, with 43 km, pointing to bigger transportation benefits which differ from the great difficulties of movement in other areas of the country.

 

In the North Region, the average distance traveled for shopping is more than twice the country average

 

The average distances traveled for retail shopping by the Brazilian population was 48 km. As a general feature, however, it is observed that the trend follows the progressively longer movements, based on the following options. For example, the average of the second option of distance covered for shopping is 79km; of the third option, 94 km and of the fourth option, 121 km. However, this pattern changes according to the structure of Brazilian network: dense in the Southeast, South and Northeastern shore; more spread in the Central West and in the inner part of the Northeast; very spread in the North Region.

 

In the North Region, the distances traveled in the first option involved, on average, 102 km, whereas in the Southeast, the same distances were equivalent to about 38 km. In the state of São Paulo, for example, which has an urban network well structured and calculated, short and homogeneous flow prevail. In Amazonas, however, the networks formed involve long distances, being one of the highlights the fact that the area led by Manaus (of great centrality in the state) has been moving towards the sea.

 

Some cases are out of the regional pattern. Montes Claros, for example, in the North of Minas Gerais, has a strong power of attraction in the North of Minas, with average distances of 110 km in the first option. Macapá is an unusual case, appearing as the only center in the state of Amapá.   

 

University students in Mato Grosso and North Region commute, on average, over 100 Km in order to attend classes

 

The areas with the lowest average distances from higher education facilities were 37 Km in the South and 47Km in the Southeast, being Santa Catarina the state with the lowest average, 28km, followed by São Paulo with average of 35 km. However, the long flows are also a highlight, in general directed to the capitals of some states in which the network of small and medium cities is less spread and has less dynamism. That is what occurs in na Bahia, Ceará, Piauí, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Amapá and Amazonas.

 

The biggest distances covered occurred in the North Region and in the state of Mato Grosso. The latter, with an average of 112 km, is close to the states of Acre, Roraima and Amapá, all of them with figures above 100 km. These figures, however, are extremely below the 295 km, on average, covered in the state of Amazonas, which evidences the polarization exerted by Manaus.

 

Cities of the North and Central West Regions search for leisure activities at 100 km of distance

 

The average distances traveled for leisure out of the municipality reveal the unevenness of access to entertainment. North and Central West have averages extremely above the national average, which is 65km: 108 Km and 107 Km, respectively. In the remaining Regions, the figures are 58 Km, in the Northeast; 50 Km in the Southeast and 36 Km, in the South.

 

For leisure, there is a predominance of short movements from the south of Minas Gerais to Rio Grande do Sul, and in part of the Northeast; of average-extension flows, in the long area which starts in the west of Minas and is prolonged along inner part of the country, and of long flows aimed at some capitals, indicating the great scarcity, in a vast proportion of the territory, of establishments which offer events related to leisure for the population.

 

The highlight, on the map, is the centrality of capitals such as Belo Horizonte, Goiânia, Brasília, Salvador, Teresina, Manaus, Boa Vista and Macapá. The last two ones were mentioned by all the municipalities surveyed in their respective states as being the first and practically only option, considering that, in Amapá, only one more municipality, Porto Grande, was mentioned by Ferreira Gomes and, in Roraima, Pacaraima was mentioned by the municipality of Normandia. Both destinations are second options, however. It is important to se the polarization exerted by part of Boa Vista and Macapá and also the limited leisure options in the other municipalities of those states.

 

Patients travel 108 km on average in search of specialized healthcare

 

For the second option, there are longer migration movements, which can represent commutes for more specialized treatment, with distances of 108 on average. In the third and fourth options, the averages are 144km and 169 km, respectively.

 

The highlights are reference centers of the healthcare system in Brazil, as it is the case, for example, of Goiânia, Teresina and Barretos. By analyzing regional diversity, it is possible to observe a pattern that accompanies the organization of the Brazilian urban network. In the Southeast and South regions, for example, where the urban network is very dense, there is a predominance of shorter flows, once health services are distributed in a more widespread manner. In the North Region, in part of the Central West and of the Northeast, the less structured urban network, and health services offered in specific centers, account for the occurrence of longer flows. Once more, what calls attention is the relevant centrality of Manaus, in the North Region.

 

By observing the second option, that is, the one which goes beyond the most frequently used healthcare services, capitals exerted strong attraction to the population of the inner part of states. This phenomenon is repeated in all the states, especially in the Northeast of the country, Minas Gerais and Goiás. It is worth mentioning the attractiveness exerted by Brasília to the west of Bahia.

 

People commute, on average, R$ 146 Km to reach an airport

 

The study showed that the borderlines of states have great relevance in the definition of influence areas of airports. The nature of the trip must also be considered in the commuting process. The change in terms of distance of movement/dislocation of first and second option is relatively small. For the first option, the distance is, on average, 146 Km, whereas for the second one, it is R$ 185 Km.

 

Following the population occupancy of the territory, the shore, of more dense occupancy, is better served by airports. In other areas, the network is more sparse, generating in long for accesses in airports, for example, in Goiás, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia.

 

In a general way, as a first option, there are shorter connections. However, there are centers which exert double influence, for the relative equidistance of airports of the same category. One example of double influence is that exerted by Londrina and Maringá in Paraná; by Foz do Iguaçu and Cascavel, also in Paraná; and by São Luís, in Maranhão and Teresina, in Piauí. The influence areas of these centers, at least concerning airports, are shared.