A contribution to the study of the urban resilience of small cities of the Amazon river delta: an assessment based on infrastructure, urban economy, and social aspects

Abstract

The environmental fragility of the Amazon River Delta has been accentuated by urban growth. However, in an urban resilience point of view, it is clear that these cities have a capacity to reinvent themselves and overcome the low capacity of social investments. In this sense, this paper aims to present a discussion on the resilience of small towns in the Amazon River Delta, based on the analysis of three components: infrastructure, urban economy and social aspects. The research was developed using satellite images, data from the 2010 Brazilian Census and information collected in the field, through the application of questionnaires to 874 households of three small cities: Afuá, Ponta de Pedras, located at the state of Pará, and Mazagão, in the state of Amapá. The study showed that the resilience of small cities can be seen as the ability to overcome structural problems and present possibilities for the resident population to reinvent themselves.

Keywords:
Small cities; Urban resilience; Amazon River Delta; Overcoming adversity