Urban–System Evolution on the Frontier of the Ecuadorian Amazon

Abstract

Like the North American frontier, Ecuador's Amazonian margin has advanced in periodic waves. But the impetus has been extremely varied, interlacing periods of socioeconomic crisis with times of prosperity. Recent events in eastern Ecuador confirm that urbanization is a fundamental component of frontier development in South America. The urbanization process is not a sign, however, of regional economic strength. Capital gains at the periphery are transferred to the nation's core region. Even the larger boom towns display little functional specialization; they are, instead, precariously dependent on employment in the public-service sector. Nonetheless, urban centers in the Ecuadorian Amazon continue to grow and to drain surrounding rural areas of younger and more educated individuals. Keywords: Amazon, boom towns, Ecuador, frontier regions, regional development.-_____ 4t,

La colonia interna vigente: transformación del territorio humano en la región amazónica del Ecuador

“…En base al análisis del sistema de desarrollo urbano en la región amazónica de Ecuador elaborado por Ryder y Brown (2000), proponemos que la colonia interna, en su sentido estricto de una región de producción de riqueza que beneficia a otras regiones de dominio político, debería incluir como necesarias al menos las siguientes ocho características: 1) sus ciudades y pueblos no energizan a poblaciones rurales aledañas;…”

Toward a typology for social-ecological systems

“…These towns can have successful economies, as occurred in Brazil in the late 1980s, but large segments of the population are migratory workers and/or low-wage earners dependant on undiversified land use and economies (Godfrey, 1990). These characteristics show aspects of social and ecological resilience, but are threatened by degradation in the undiversified economic and ecological resources on which they depend (Ryder & Brown, 2000). However, unlike Type 1b cities, Type 2b towns generally have greater familiarity and connectivity within and between social networks, partially due to their smaller scales.…”

Will Noah’s Ark depart from the Amazon River floodplains?

“…Ryder and Brown [1] defined frontier as relatively static border zones located between neighbouring states or dynamic peripheral regions in the throes of absorption into the national and global economies. The last is unambiguously the case with the selected study areas.…”