Cities in amazonian literature. a literature review toward a preliminary conceptual framework for amazonian urbanism
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Abstract
Introduction. In the scientific literature on Amazonian cities, the relationship between urbanization and the natural environment has been studied from various conceptual and methodological approaches. This diversity complicates the distinction between which aspects of those studied have analogous support and which remain assumptions. Objectives. This article analyzes how the literature reviewed conceptualizes the relationship between city and nature in Amazonian territories, to systematize its convergences, tensions, and gaps. Methodology. 22 scientific documents were selected to be analyzed from a qualitative approach. The documents are coded according to their theme, subjected to a cross-sectional comparative analysis, and finally to a critical contrast of the framework elaborated. During this process, a distinction is made between explicit evidence, derived interpretation, and hypothesis. Results. The results show that the relationship between city and forest is the most consistently documented conceptual link. Nine of the twenty-two documents analyzed address this issue, although nature is questioned from five perspectives that have not yet been reconciled with each other. The dispersed and low-density territorial configuration appears in seven documents and is described with a fragmented vocabulary. The association between extractivismo and urbanization, as well as between informality and poor governance, does not yet have a documented causal mechanism. The analysis conducted on a single territorial scale (20 out of 22 documents) and the minority participation of indigenous peoples (3 out of 22 documents) constitute epistemological limitations present in the literature. Conclusions. Based on these findings, a preliminary conceptual framework articulated around the city-jungle axis is proposed and three open hypotheses are formulated to guide future research. General area of study: Social Sciences. Specific area of study: Urban Planning and Territorial Policies. Type of study: Narrative bibliographic review.
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