PRODUCTIVE RESTRUCTURING, LABOR, AND TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE METROPOLITAN SPACE OF FORTALEZA

Abstract

In the face of the ongoing process of productive and spatial restructuring, the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza (RMF) experiments the substitution of forms and the diversification of its functions. The creation of industrial districts and large housing projects has led to a complex form of the urban structure in the metropolis, with changes in the socio-spatial organization. Different from an expected loss of functions, Fortaleza has strengthened its command capacities due to the new roles that the municipalities of the RMF play in the social and technical division of labor. However, these municipalities have remained dependent on the supply of services from the capital that has specialized on the tertiary sector, increasing its polarizing power and area of influence. The policies for the incentive of tourism, real estate deals, agribusiness, and the growth and expansion of the industry in Ceará have produced changes in the employment structure, on the labor market, and consequently in the metropolis. This article analyzes the impacts of the processes of restructuring in the metropolitan space of Fortaleza and their implications for the labor force profile and the spatial mobility. It shows the impulse and the rescaling of the industry in the RMF and the resulting expansion of its zone of influence to other states and the transnational space, and these processes favor the emergence of new centralities.