O município de Erechim e sua dinâmica regional a partir dos aspectos da saúde e educação superior

Abstract

This study aimed to study the socioeconomic relations established among the City of Erechim and other municipalities that comprise the geographical micro-region where it is located, according to IBGE. In order to do that, this article aims to understand the dynamics, functions and flows that define its regional role from the aspects of health and higher education. The municipality of Erechim stands out for being a city-polo in the micro-region, with the largest population, the highest GDP and the largest offer of services in this area, exerting a relative geoeconomic importance in the northern part of Rio Grande do Sul. Erechim acquired its emancipation in the early years of the twentieth century, and the area comprising the municipality at that time is basically the current area of the micro-region, which had its territorial occupation from immigration schemes and colonization made by the State. The economic activities of Erechim had been based on agriculture and trade for many years, but at the end of the 70s the secondary sector begins to stand out. Since then, this sector is emerging and shall become, along with the tertiary sector, the fundamental economic matrix of the municipality, resulting in a considerable expansion of the urban area of the city, both horizontally and vertically. Among the many changes that the municipality of Erechim has suffered, especially from mid-twentieth century, it is important to highlight the decrease in the size of its territory, from a series of emancipations that directly or indirectly, formed the 30 municipalities that currently make up the micro-region. However, many of these municipalities do not have adequate infrastructure to provide what the population need in relation to many services, especially health and education. In the micro-region, Erechim is the only city able to offer more complex services, including a broader and more diverse trade, featuring and demonstrating its polarity role in regional urban network, especially when it comes to commuting migration. Within this regional dynamic, in order to understand the functions and flows that define the importance of Erechim for the region, it is given prominence to the health space and higher education. These aspects, including the tertiary sector, help to demarcate, along with industry and trade, a strong daily intra-regional dynamic, polarized by Erechim. As the methodology of the work, there was extensive literature review on the categories and concepts used in the theoretical framework, as well as other studies about Erechim. In addition, it was performed data and information collection on municipal public agencies, especially at the higher education institutions and hospitals in the city of Erechim. The theoretical framework focused on the concepts of city, region, urban hierarchy, urban network, urbanization and urban growth. From the data collected, tables and flowcharts are designed to assist and demonstrate the centrality Erechim plays in the micro-region.