METROPOLITAN SPACE IN BRAZIL: a new spatial order?

The goal of the text is to analyze the recent changes in the spatial order of Brazilian metropolitan areas and, particularly, the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte. It begins with a dialogue with the international literature on the issue, and, after that, discusses the national debates. The empirical reference is a series of studies and indices built from the results of the Demographic Census of 2010. It shows the dual system downtown vs outskirts is too limited for comprehending the current socio-spatial order or Brazilian metropoles. It identifies significant changes occurred over the last decades and calls attention to several continuums regarding socio-spatial inequalities.