Urban morphology and peripheral growth in Brazilian Intermediate Cities: geotechnologies and methodological innovations applied to Montes Claros, Minas Gerais

Abstract Integrated analysis of urban morphology and functional characteristics allows for a better understanding of the structure and intra-urban dynamics of intermediate cities, indicating a series of elements that demonstrate associations between intra-urban space and the intensity and quality of the relationship of a given centrality with its surroundings. Based on the case study of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, we present a methodological proposal for evaluating morphological and functional aspects of intermediate cities using information from the Demographic Census and other free geospatial datasets (i.e. digital terrain model and satellite images). We identified the spatial distribution of the types of occupation, such as (a) density of residential type buildings, (b) trade and services and (c) under construction. Furthermore, we quantified and evaluated the characteristics (income and age structure) of the expansion vectors of Montes Claros. In Montes Claros, we identified the formation of less developed intra-urban centralities compared to other development hubs in Minas Gerais (Juiz de Fora, Uberlândia, Pouso Alegre, among others). In the city, the concentration of functions in two centralities (the main center and the most prominent subcenter) increases socio-spatial segregation, given the absence of important centralities close to areas with the greatest peripheral growth between 2000 and 2010.