The use of the concept and method of socio-spatial formation in the study of small cities

Abstract

The theme small cities has gradually aroused the interest of researchers, due to the changes derived from the complexification of economic and social relations, as to the role that this type of city has played in the urban network to which it belongs. In order to understand the role that small cities play in the urban network, the theoretical perspective based on the Critical Geography paradigm is analyzed, whose concept and method is based on the socio-spatial formation of Santos (1979). So, the present work aims to discuss the concept and method cited, in relation to the study of the insertion of small cities in the urban network. The methodology used in the work is the analysis of the works that deal with the construction of the elements related to the creation of the concept of the socio-spatial formation resulting in the reflection about the applicability of the same, in the context of the small city