From the Iron Ore Quadrangle to the Aquifer Quadrangle: conflicting territorialities in the production of a social space in the extension of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte City, Brazil

Abstract

The discussions presented here search to comprehend the processes that led to the conformation of a region popularly and technically known as the Iron Ore Quadrangle, located around the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte City, Brazil. Methodologically, the surveys and analysis identified that the production of this regional space has been historically shaped by the development of mining activities, mainly through the operations of transnational and international capital. In terms of capital organization and surplus-value flows, the region of the Iron Ore Quadrangle is hierarchized by the centrality of the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte City. On the other hand, it is noted that the aquifers that supply this area are mainly located in the Iron Ore Quadrangle, progressively impacted by the mining activities. Therefore, it is necessary and urgent for the region be known as an aquifer region, under the precepts of environmental conservation and social reproduction.

Keywords: Iron Ore Quadrangle; Aquifer Quadrangle; Production of space; Representations of space; Extended urbanization